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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. capital — money
  6. band — a ring
  7. plane — a tool
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. press — newspapers
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. chest — of your body
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. press — a publisher
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. capital — a city
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a music group
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chest — a box
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. temple — a place of worship

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