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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: rush · stem · prune · cold · press · squash · roll · key

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. prune — to trim
  5. key — in music
  6. roll — a list
  7. press — a publisher
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. press — newspapers
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. key — for a lock
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. press — to push
  21. key — the most important part
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. roll — on a roll
  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