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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chest · degree · press · wax · saw · bay · last · ball

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. degree — from a university
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. last — final
  14. wax — to grow
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. last — to go on
  19. chest — a box
  20. saw — the tool
  21. press — newspapers
  22. last — finally
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bay — a horse colour

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