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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: mouse · rush · last · prune · content · jam · chest · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — final
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. content — the amount
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. press — to push
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rush — hurry
  15. content — happy
  16. prune — to trim
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. chest — of your body
  19. press — newspapers
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. prune — the fruit

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