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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: wax · straw · object · squash · shower · press · band · kid

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. band — a ring
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. band — a music group
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. press — newspapers
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. object — to protest
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. press — to push
  19. object — a thing
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wax — to grow
  24. object — an aim

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