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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 120 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: hand · wax · squash · file · calf · pitch · season · press

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. hand — in cards
  3. file — a line of people
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. hand — help
  8. press — newspapers
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. press — to push
  11. squash — the sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. squash — to crush
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wax — to grow
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pitch — completely
  21. file — a document
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. season — of the year
  24. calf — of the leg

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