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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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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: fall · hide · snap · press · degree · tear · wax · squash

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. fall — the season
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tear — to rip
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fall — to drop
  9. degree — temperature
  10. snap — to click
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — to grow
  13. press — to push
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. squash — to crush
  22. press — a publisher
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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