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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: shower · mug · bat · court · wax · vault · prune · press

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. press — to push
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mug — a cup
  5. court — for sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mug — a face
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — of law
  15. shower — rain
  16. press — a publisher
  17. mug — to rob
  18. shower — to wash
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. court — of a king
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bat — the animal

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