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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. land — a country
  6. cue — a signal
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cue — a hint
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — ground
  15. cell — in biology
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. chest — of your body
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — to come down
  22. press — to push
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wake — before a funeral

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