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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · press · key · content · spring · row · wax · march

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. march — music
  5. press — to push
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. content — the amount
  12. key — in music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. press — a publisher
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. march — the month
  19. press — newspapers
  20. content — happy
  21. march — the month
  22. spring — of water
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. spring — the season

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