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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — to grow
  4. press — to push
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. face — to confront
  10. sharp — clever
  11. march — music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. press — newspapers
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. press — a publisher
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. march — the month
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. rush — hurry
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. face — part of the head

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