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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: cap · dip · cold · press · game · bore · bat · wax

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. dip — to sink
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bore — to drill
  12. press — to push
  13. game — wild animals
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cap — a lid
  22. game — a match
  23. cap — of ice
  24. wax — to grow

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