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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bound — obliged
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bound — tied together
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bound — certain
  11. press — to push
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rock — music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. spell — magic
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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