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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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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: kick · rock · press · squash · bay · mine · land · chest

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. mine — for digging
  3. press — to push
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. press — a publisher
  8. land — ground
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. land — to come down
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rock — a stone
  17. land — a country
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rock — music
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. squash — to crush

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