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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: squash · pop · row · cell · bear · press · march · roll

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. roll — a cake
  3. squash — to crush
  4. press — to push
  5. march — the month
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bear — the animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. pop — soda
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. row — a line
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cell — a phone
  18. march — the month
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pop — music
  23. roll — a list
  24. march — music

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