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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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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: pitcher · wave · squash · land · firm · deal · press · net

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. squash — the sport
  3. land — a country
  4. press — to push
  5. firm — steady
  6. squash — to crush
  7. firm — a company
  8. land — ground
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. press — newspapers
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. firm — decided
  18. net — in sport
  19. press — a publisher
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. land — to come down

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