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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — finally
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. last — to go on
  5. press — to push
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wax — to grow
  9. last — final
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. shower — rain
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. capital — a city
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lie — to recline
  21. date — the fruit
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wax — in the ear

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