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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: patient · spring · bowl · kick · wax · ball · hand · press

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. 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. hand — part of the body
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. spring — a coil
  6. kick — in football
  7. press — a publisher
  8. ball — a dance
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — of water
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. ball — a great time
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spring — the season
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. hand — help
  22. press — to push
  23. wax — to grow
  24. 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