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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to click
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bore — to drill
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rush — hurry
  8. press — to push
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. press — newspapers
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wax — to grow
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bore — to tire
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. tear — from crying

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