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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · race · straw · row · tube · squash · dip · press

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. land — ground
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. press — newspapers
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. press — to push
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. dip — to sink
  14. press — a publisher
  15. row — to paddle
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. row — a line
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. race — the arms race
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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