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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rest — a break
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. present — a gift
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. content — happy
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — hurry
  16. court — of law
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. content — the amount
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wind — moving air
  24. present — there

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