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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 116 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: press · club · wax · cap · kid · pop · net · squash

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cap — a hat
  3. press — to push
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. net — for catching
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. club — for dancing
  11. net — after costs
  12. wax — to grow
  13. club — a group
  14. press — a publisher
  15. squash — to crush
  16. club — for golf
  17. pop — to visit
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cap — a lid
  23. net — in sport
  24. kid — child

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