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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. file — a document
  3. spring — of water
  4. file — a tool
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spring — the season
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mug — a face
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cap — a lid
  15. spring — a coil
  16. press — to push
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mug — a cup
  20. row — a line
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cap — of ice
  23. press — a publisher
  24. cap — a hat

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