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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spring — of water
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. kid — child
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. press — a publisher
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. craft — a skill
  11. press — newspapers
  12. spring — the season
  13. press — to push
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wax — to grow
  20. craft — boats
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spring — a coil
  23. kid — to tease
  24. craft — a handicraft

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