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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: scale · roll · row · straw · rash · pop · squash · press

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. roll — a list
  3. rash — hasty
  4. press — to push
  5. row — to paddle
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. roll — a cake
  11. scale — in music
  12. rash — a series
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. press — newspapers
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. scale — size or range
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. press — a publisher
  23. row — a line
  24. squash — the sport

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