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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 120 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. face — to confront
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pop — soda
  5. land — ground
  6. bulb — for light
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pop — to visit
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bulb — for light
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pop — music
  17. press — to push
  18. land — a country
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — help
  21. land — to come down
  22. face — part of the head
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. face — to point toward

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