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

Word bank: wax · press · rule · cold · pound · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rash — a series
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — not warm
  12. press — newspapers
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. press — a publisher
  18. rash — hasty

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