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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. firm — steady
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — to push
  10. firm — a company
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. branch — a division
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. press — a publisher
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chair — a leader
  18. vault — a safe
  19. firm — decided
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. date — the fruit
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wax — to grow
  24. date — on the calendar

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