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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rule — a law
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. capital — money
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rule — government
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. band — a ring
  16. press — a publisher
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tube — a container
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. capital — a city
  23. wax — to grow
  24. press — newspapers

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