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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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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: swing · lash · mouse · wax · kid · toast · press · race

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. swing — music
  5. press — a publisher
  6. race — a contest
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. race — humankind
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. swing — in golf
  18. race — the arms race
  19. swing — to play on
  20. press — to push
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. press — newspapers
  23. toast — bread
  24. mouse — the animal

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