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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: ruler · pitcher · wax · bat · cabinet · press · rush · cold

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. press — to push
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bat — in an idiom

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