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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wax — to grow
  4. perch — the fish
  5. staff — employees
  6. race — a contest
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. net — after costs
  10. race — humankind
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. press — a publisher
  14. ground — the earth
  15. net — in sport
  16. staff — employees
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. net — for catching
  21. staff — a stick
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ground — a position

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