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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: club · squash · rest · cold · face · press · wave · mate

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. press — to push
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rest — what's left
  9. face — part of the head
  10. press — a publisher
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mate — to breed
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. club — a group
  16. press — newspapers
  17. face — to confront
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. club — for dancing
  22. mate — a partner
  23. rest — a break
  24. club — for golf

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