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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: land · squash · wound · bear · press · last · chest · mug

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bear — the animal
  3. last — finally
  4. chest — a box
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mug — a cup
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mug — to rob
  10. wound — an injury
  11. last — to go on
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. last — final
  16. squash — the sport
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. bear — the animal
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. press — a publisher
  24. mug — a face

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