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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. file — a document
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. press — to push
  7. press — newspapers
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. file — a tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. press — a publisher
  21. pop — soda
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wax — to grow

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