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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. court — of law
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fall — to drop
  9. press — newspapers
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — to paddle
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fall — the season
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. march — music
  16. rest — a break
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. court — of a king
  20. march — the month
  21. cold — not warm
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. march — the month
  24. press — to push

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