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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: wound · press · hand · squash · file · march · pop · plane

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. march — the month
  6. plane — a tool
  7. march — music
  8. press — newspapers
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. march — the month
  11. hand — help
  12. squash — to crush
  13. press — to push
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. squash — the sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. pop — music
  22. file — a tool
  23. pop — soda
  24. press — a publisher

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