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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: cold · rush · swing · wax · press · shower · scale · pass

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cold — not warm
  5. shower — rain
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — an illness
  11. scale — in music
  12. pass — a permit
  13. press — to push
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. press — a publisher
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. swing — music
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rush — hurry
  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