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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. press — newspapers
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — to push
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. roll — a list
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. degree — temperature
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. wax — to grow
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. lie — to recline
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. degree — an amount

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