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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wax — to grow
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. press — to push
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. club — for golf
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. club — for dancing
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — a group
  20. spring — the season
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fork — in a road
  23. dip — to sink
  24. spring — of water

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