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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. current — electric
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fall — the season
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — newspapers
  8. current — happening now
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — letters
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. press — to push
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. current — of water
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spell — magic

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