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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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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: nail · lash · face · cell · squash · board · press · wind

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — to confront
  5. board — to get on
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. board — a committee
  9. press — to push
  10. face — to point toward
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. press — a publisher
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. press — newspapers
  24. nail — on a finger

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