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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 · last · drill · press · rash · leaves · season · club

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. wax — to grow
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. last — to go on
  6. press — a publisher
  7. club — for golf
  8. press — newspapers
  9. club — for dancing
  10. rash — hasty
  11. club — a group
  12. season — in sport
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rash — a series
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. drill — a practice
  17. press — to push
  18. drill — army training
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. season — of the year
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rash — on the skin

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