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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: kick · ground · stock · tube · squash · file · last · press

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. file — a tool
  3. ground — crushed
  4. file — a document
  5. tube — the underground
  6. press — to push
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. squash — the sport
  10. last — final
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — a publisher
  19. stock — shares
  20. ground — the earth
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. stock — goods
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ground — a position

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