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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. press — a publisher
  5. content — happy
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. file — a tool
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. file — a document
  10. root — the cause
  11. season — in sport
  12. root — of a word
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitch — completely
  16. press — to push
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. content — the amount
  20. season — of the year
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. press — newspapers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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