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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.

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: wax · face · kid · hand · wave · rock · court · press

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kid — child
  8. rock — music
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. court — of a king
  11. rock — a stone
  12. face — part of the head
  13. court — of law
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. court — for sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. press — to push
  21. hand — help
  22. kid — to tease
  23. face — to point toward
  24. press — newspapers

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