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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. press — to push
  3. swing — in golf
  4. prune — to trim
  5. swing — music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pop — to visit
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pop — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. press — a publisher
  15. swing — to play on
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. press — newspapers
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pop — soda
  22. squash — the sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. squash — to crush

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