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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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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chest — of your body
  3. swing — in golf
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — music
  11. squash — the sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rash — a series
  16. date — the fruit
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. swing — to play on
  19. squash — to crush
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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