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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · march · bear · shower · press · wax · snap · can

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. bear — the animal
  3. can — a tin
  4. press — to push
  5. snap — to click
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. press — a publisher
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. can — a tin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — music
  17. wax — to grow
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. can — to be able to
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — rain
  23. march — the month
  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