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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rock — music
  5. present — a gift
  6. track — a song
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kid — child
  11. track — a path
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. plane — a tool
  16. press — newspapers
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. press — to push
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. wax — to grow

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