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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: cap · press · mate · stand · squash · jam · bat · band

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mate — to breed
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. mate — a friend
  11. band — a music group
  12. press — to push
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cap — a hat
  19. stand — to bear
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. press — a publisher
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. bat — for baseball

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