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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: wax · cell · bass · snap · press · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wax — to grow
  8. snap — to click
  9. wind — moving air
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cell — a phone
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bass — low music

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