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

Word bank: wind · press · race · wax · straw · march

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. march — the month
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. press — to push
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — humankind
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wax — to grow
  18. press — newspapers

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