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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. land — a country
  3. tube — a container
  4. spring — a coil
  5. land — ground
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. press — to push
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. press — newspapers
  13. board — a committee
  14. pitch — completely
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. tube — the underground
  18. land — to come down
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. press — a publisher
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wax — for sculpting

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