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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: bulb · bay · pitch · wind · plane · press · cold · squash

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. press — newspapers
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. plane — a tool
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bulb — for light
  21. press — to push
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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