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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 116 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: bat · land · press · kick · bulb · wax

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. kick — in football
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bat — the animal
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bat — for baseball

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