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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: lean · dip · press · shower · field · squash · bass · can

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. press — newspapers
  3. dip — to sink
  4. squash — the sport
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. field — farmland
  7. press — to push
  8. field — for sport
  9. lean — thin
  10. field — a subject
  11. lean — to bend
  12. shower — to wash
  13. can — a tin
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. shower — rain
  19. can — a tin
  20. squash — to crush
  21. can — to be able to
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bass — the instrument

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