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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. stand — to bear
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. press — newspapers
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wax — to grow
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. branch — of a bank

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