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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: vault · jam · wax · pitch · bat · roll · row · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. press — to push
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. roll — a list
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. roll — a cake
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. press — newspapers
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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