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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. hand — in cards
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. press — a publisher
  7. staff — employees
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. lean — to bend
  11. staff — a stick
  12. degree — from a university
  13. file — a tool
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. lean — thin
  18. file — a document
  19. wax — to grow
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. staff — employees
  24. cabinet — ministers

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