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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: march · game · squash · spring · cabinet · rest · press · saw

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rest — what's left
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. squash — the sport
  9. spring — the season
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. march — the month
  15. game — wild animals
  16. march — the month
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. squash — to crush
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — a match
  23. march — music
  24. spring — a coil

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