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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: stand · mouse · rash · prune · kid · wax · tear · press

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rash — hasty
  7. press — to push
  8. wax — to grow
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. press — a publisher
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. press — newspapers
  24. stand — to bear

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