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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. press — to push
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pitch — completely
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. press — a publisher
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rush — hurry
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. squash — to crush
  18. foot — a measure
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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