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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. press — to push
  3. row — a line
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mark — a grade
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. wound — an injury
  18. snap — to click
  19. mark — a trace
  20. press — newspapers
  21. kid — child
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. row — to paddle

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