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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: press · stock · squash · mine · season · snap · cell · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stock — shares
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. squash — to crush
  11. press — a publisher
  12. cell — a phone
  13. season — of the year
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stock — goods
  21. press — to push
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. squash — the sport
  24. snap — to click

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