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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pop — soda
  9. cell — in biology
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pop — music
  12. wax — to grow
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bore — to tire
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bore — to drill
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. scale — size or range
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wax — in the ear

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