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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. press — to push
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. plane — a tool
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bat — the animal
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wax — to grow
  12. suit — in cards
  13. suit — clothes
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. press — newspapers
  19. suit — to fit
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mug — a face
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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