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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — after costs
  7. foot — a measure
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — in sport
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. roll — a cake
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. wax — to grow
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. roll — a list
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. net — for catching
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — to shout
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. foot — the bottom

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