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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: hand · wax · tear · arm · season · press · nail · scale

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wax — to grow
  4. season — in sport
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. tear — from crying
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hand — help
  10. press — newspapers
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. season — of the year
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. press — to push
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. scale — size or range

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