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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. drill — a practice
  8. press — to push
  9. pitch — completely
  10. drill — army training
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. drill — the tool
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bass — low music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fan — to cool the air

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