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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. press — to push
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. press — a publisher
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rush — hurry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. squash — to crush
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pound — a weight
  24. squash — the vegetable

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