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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. row — a line
  7. board — to get on
  8. hand — help
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. press — a publisher
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rest — what's left
  13. press — to push
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wax — to grow
  24. board — a committee

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