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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rock — a stone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. net — after costs
  5. press — a publisher
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. net — in sport
  9. wax — to grow
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. chest — a box
  17. rock — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. press — to push
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. net — for catching
  23. mate — a friend
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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