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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bear — the animal
  3. press — to push
  4. squash — the sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wax — to grow
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. press — newspapers
  20. squash — to crush
  21. net — for catching
  22. bear — the animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. press — a publisher

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com