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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: march · press · current · can · shower · wax · calf · bat

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wax — to grow
  3. march — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — rain
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. can — a tin
  10. current — happening now
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. can — to be able to
  13. current — electric
  14. press — to push
  15. shower — to wash
  16. march — the month
  17. current — of water
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. press — newspapers
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wax — in the ear

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