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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: ball · fan · arm · cell · wax · rush · press · roll

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. press — to push
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ball — a dance
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. press — newspapers
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. press — a publisher
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. cell — in biology
  18. roll — a list
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wax — to grow
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. roll — on a roll

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