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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: swing · toast · current · stand · press · date · nail · kid

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. toast — bread
  3. press — a publisher
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kid — to tease
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. swing — to play on
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. press — newspapers
  13. current — happening now
  14. date — the fruit
  15. swing — in golf
  16. kid — child
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stand — to bear
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. swing — music
  22. current — electric
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. current — of water

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