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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tube — a container
  9. press — a publisher
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. field — farmland
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rush — hurry
  18. press — to push
  19. field — for sport
  20. tube — the underground
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wax — in the ear

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