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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. press — to push
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. current — of water
  10. degree — from a university
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. tube — the underground
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. perch — the fish
  19. press — newspapers
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. tube — a container
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mine — for digging

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