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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · bat · wax · hand · press · roll · board · mate

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wind — moving air
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bat — the animal
  6. press — a publisher
  7. board — a committee
  8. press — to push
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. press — newspapers
  18. board — to get on
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — help
  23. board — a flat piece
  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