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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
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: face · game · press · lash · wound · wake · date · squash

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. face — to confront
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — a match
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wake — a trail
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. date — the fruit
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wound — an injury
  20. squash — to crush
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. face — part of the head

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