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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.

Make a worksheet

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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468
Word bank
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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kid — to tease
  6. chest — a box
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. hand — help
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rest — a break
  14. press — a publisher
  15. hand — in cards
  16. press — to push
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rest — what's left
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. chest — of your body
  22. toast — bread
  23. kid — child
  24. press — newspapers

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