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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. file — a document
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. court — of law
  5. face — to confront
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. press — to push
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. file — a tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. face — to point toward
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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