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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. march — the month
  5. press — to push
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. press — newspapers
  8. file — a tool
  9. march — music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rest — a break
  12. wax — to grow
  13. last — final
  14. rest — what's left
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a document
  17. last — finally
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. mug — a face
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rest — what's left
  22. press — a publisher
  23. last — to go on
  24. mug — a cup

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