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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: date · pitch · press · straw · tear · saw · squash · sharp

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. squash — to crush
  3. saw — the tool
  4. sharp — clever
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — to push
  7. tear — to rip
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. saw — the tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. squash — the sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pitch — completely
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pitch — a sports field

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