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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: squash · press · mine · field · fine · chest · chair · dip

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. fine — high quality
  3. field — for sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. fine — all right
  7. press — a publisher
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. mine — for digging
  12. squash — the sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chest — of your body
  16. dip — to sink
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. squash — to crush
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chest — a box
  24. chair — to sit 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