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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: firm · field · straw · press · squash · tube · cabinet · plane

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. press — a publisher
  3. firm — steady
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. tube — a container
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. field — for sport
  10. press — to push
  11. field — farmland
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. squash — to crush
  17. firm — decided
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. press — newspapers
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. firm — a company
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. field — a subject

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