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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: fork · calf · squash · tear · bat · press · wound · key

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. press — to push
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. press — a publisher
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. key — for a lock
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wound — an injury
  10. key — the most important part
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tear — from crying
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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