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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: wake · wax · court · mug · club · lash · press · tear

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. club — for golf
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. club — for dancing
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mug — to rob
  11. press — to push
  12. court — for sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. mug — a face
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. press — newspapers
  22. club — a group
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. mug — a cup

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