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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 116 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: bowl · squash · march · swing · press · bat

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. swing — music
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. march — the month
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. squash — the sport
  9. press — a publisher
  10. squash — to crush
  11. march — music
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bat — the animal
  14. march — the month
  15. press — newspapers
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. swing — to play on

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