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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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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: bay · bear · press · squash · cell · kid

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. kid — child
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. cell — in biology
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. kid — to tease
  18. press — newspapers

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