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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: hand · present · press · wax · ball · roll · dip · kick

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. ball — a great time
  9. roll — a list
  10. kick — in football
  11. present — a gift
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wax — to grow
  15. dip — to sink
  16. roll — a cake
  17. present — there
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. present — the time now
  21. ball — a dance
  22. press — to push
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. dip — a sauce

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