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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pound — a weight
  4. season — in sport
  5. press — a publisher
  6. hand — help
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. press — to push
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rule — a law
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. rash — a series
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wax — to grow
  18. season — of the year
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rule — government

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