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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: fan · row · date · press · squash · kid · wax · chair

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. press — to push
  3. squash — to crush
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. kid — child
  9. row — to paddle
  10. date — the fruit
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. row — a line
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. chair — a leader
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wax — to grow
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. squash — the sport
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chair — to sit on

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