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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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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: tube · game · mate · perch · press · fork · content · wax

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fork — in a road
  4. press — a publisher
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tube — a container
  8. wax — to grow
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. tube — the underground
  14. content — the amount
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. press — to push
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mate — to breed
  23. press — newspapers
  24. content — happy

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