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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bound — obliged
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bound — tied together
  5. craft — boats
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wax — to grow
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. snap — to click
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bound — certain
  13. chest — a box
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. press — newspapers
  16. fall — the season
  17. craft — a skill
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chest — of your body
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fall — to drop

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