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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. press — a publisher
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rest — what's left
  8. shower — rain
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rock — music
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rock — a stone
  20. press — newspapers
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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