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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 116 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. hand — help
  3. rock — music
  4. cap — a hat
  5. press — a publisher
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. press — to push
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. lean — thin
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. degree — from a university
  15. press — newspapers
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cap — a lid
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. lean — to bend
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bay — a horse colour

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