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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. cue — a hint
  3. rule — a law
  4. spring — the season
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cue — a signal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wax — to grow
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. spring — of water
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rule — government
  23. cue — for pool
  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