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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. present — the time now
  3. field — a subject
  4. wax — to grow
  5. object — an aim
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. field — farmland
  11. object — to protest
  12. hand — in cards
  13. present — there
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. hand — help
  16. field — for sport
  17. present — a gift
  18. press — a publisher
  19. ball — a dance
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ball — a great time
  24. object — a thing

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