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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fork — in a road
  6. land — to come down
  7. press — to push
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — a country
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. land — ground
  18. content — the amount
  19. press — a publisher
  20. content — happy
  21. hand — help
  22. fall — the season
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fork — to eat with

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