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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: march · press · cold · wax · suit · hand · lash · root

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. press — newspapers
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. press — a publisher
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cold — not warm
  15. root — of a word
  16. press — to push
  17. suit — clothes
  18. root — of a plant
  19. suit — to fit
  20. root — the cause
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wax — for sculpting

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