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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. march — the month
  3. bass — low music
  4. march — the month
  5. key — in music
  6. press — to push
  7. face — part of the head
  8. press — newspapers
  9. key — the most important part
  10. degree — from a university
  11. key — for a lock
  12. face — to confront
  13. bass — the fish
  14. press — a publisher
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. face — to point toward
  24. march — music

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