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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: bear · squash · wax · chair · press · last · cabinet · rush

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bear — the animal
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. last — to go on
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. squash — to crush
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chair — a leader
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. squash — the sport

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