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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: press · kid · cold · wax · kick · pitcher · bay · rash

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. press — newspapers
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rash — hasty
  14. kid — child
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kick — in football
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cold — an illness
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. press — to push
  23. rash — a series
  24. wax — in the ear

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