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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. ground — crushed
  5. squash — the sport
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. chair — a leader
  10. ground — a position
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. squash — to crush
  13. ground — the earth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wax — to grow
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. press — to push
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. press — a publisher
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. press — newspapers

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