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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bear — the animal
  4. firm — a company
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. press — a publisher
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. firm — decided
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. firm — steady
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rule — a law
  19. press — to push
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. rule — government

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