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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: press · squash · cold · spell · bore · swing · straw · pound

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — to push
  4. swing — in golf
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. swing — music
  10. bore — to tire
  11. press — newspapers
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — not warm
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pound — a weight
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bore — to drill
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — for dogs
  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