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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. march — music
  3. spell — a short time
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wax — to grow
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spell — magic
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — a hat
  19. press — to push
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spell — letters
  22. cap — a lid
  23. face — to confront
  24. march — the month

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