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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.

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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: hand · press · current · cold · fan · deal · rash · wax

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. hand — help
  3. press — to push
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. current — electric
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wax — to grow
  13. deal — to handle
  14. rash — a series
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. hand — in cards
  18. current — happening now
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. press — a publisher
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. current — of water

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