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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 120 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: coach · saw · squash · press · hand · land · prune · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. squash — the sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. land — a country
  5. saw — the tool
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. hand — in cards
  9. land — to come down
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. land — ground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. press — a publisher
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pop — music
  16. hand — help
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pop — soda
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. squash — the vegetable

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