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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 120 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. press — newspapers
  4. wax — to grow
  5. march — the month
  6. press — to push
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. march — music
  11. net — in sport
  12. chip — for betting
  13. net — after costs
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. press — a publisher
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. march — the month
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. degree — temperature
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. degree — an amount
  24. net — for catching

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