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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.

Make a worksheet

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: fine · press · land · wax · mine · cold · bowl · calf

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fine — high quality
  4. land — to come down
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. press — a publisher
  10. land — ground
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. land — a country
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fine — all right

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