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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: last · temple · bowl · wax · straw · cap · press · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — to grow
  4. press — to push
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pop — music
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cap — of ice
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. last — finally
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. last — final
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. press — a publisher
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. press — newspapers
  22. last — to go on
  23. pop — soda
  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