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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wax — to grow
  4. press — to push
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. spring — of water
  8. chair — a leader
  9. press — a publisher
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. row — a line
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. press — newspapers
  21. spell — letters
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. bulb — for light

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