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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wax — to grow
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. firm — steady
  7. row — a line
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. squash — to crush
  12. firm — a company
  13. press — a publisher
  14. squash — the sport
  15. content — happy
  16. press — newspapers
  17. mine — for digging
  18. press — to push
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. firm — decided
  22. content — the amount
  23. saw — the tool
  24. squash — the vegetable

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