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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bore — to tire
  6. face — part of the head
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. saw — the tool
  10. scale — in music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. face — to confront
  14. rock — music
  15. bore — to drill
  16. press — to push
  17. scale — size or range
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. face — to point toward
  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