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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 116 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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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 · fan · wake · last · key · sharp · pitch

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. press — a publisher
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. press — to push
  21. squash — to crush
  22. press — newspapers
  23. last — finally
  24. pitch — a sports field

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