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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: cold · spring · pitcher · press · squash · tube · toast · safe

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. press — a publisher
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — of water
  17. squash — to crush
  18. press — to push
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. press — newspapers
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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