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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rest — a break
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pitch — completely
  12. season — in sport
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. stem — to come from
  16. season — of the year
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. current — electric
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. current — happening now
  23. press — a publisher
  24. current — of water

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