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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. press — to push
  3. court — of a king
  4. rule — government
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. stem — to come from
  10. snap — to click
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. court — for sport
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wound — an injury
  18. court — of law
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stem — a stem cell

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