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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: squash · cell · chair · press · content · lash

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. content — the amount
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. press — a publisher
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cell — a phone
  10. press — to push
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. press — newspapers
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cell — in biology
  15. squash — the sport
  16. content — happy
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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