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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: toast · wax · jam · press · cold · lean · race · date

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. toast — bread
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. press — to push
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. date — the fruit
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. lean — thin
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. race — the arms race
  12. press — newspapers
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cold — an illness
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — a publisher
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. cold — the Cold War

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