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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: row · cold · net · press · squash · hide · pop · root

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. row — to paddle
  4. root — of a plant
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — after costs
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pop — music
  13. root — of a word
  14. press — a publisher
  15. squash — to crush
  16. press — newspapers
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pop — to visit
  22. press — to push
  23. root — the cause
  24. net — for catching

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