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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 124 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cue — a signal
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cue — a hint
  5. face — to point toward
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. last — finally
  8. pop — soda
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pop — music
  13. press — to push
  14. spell — magic
  15. capital — a city
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pop — to visit
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wax — to grow
  20. capital — money
  21. last — to go on
  22. face — to confront
  23. last — final
  24. spell — letters

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