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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fine — all right
  5. charge — electricity
  6. last — finally
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. last — final
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. last — to go on
  12. press — to push
  13. charge — a price
  14. kid — child
  15. press — a publisher
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. charge — in control
  20. field — for sport
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. press — newspapers
  24. deal — to handle

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