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

Word bank: swing · row · press · squash · race · coach

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. swing — to play on
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. swing — in golf
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. press — newspapers
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. race — a contest
  9. press — a publisher
  10. squash — to crush
  11. swing — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. squash — the sport
  15. race — the arms race
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. press — to push

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