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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. can — a tin
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. press — to push
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wax — to grow
  10. land — ground
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. can — to be able to
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pop — music
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pop — soda
  22. spell — magic
  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