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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 120 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. court — of law
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tube — a container
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. court — of a king
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. court — for sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. press — to push
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bear — the animal
  20. press — a publisher
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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