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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: mark · squash · press · march · wound · toast · jam · bat

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. march — the month
  9. squash — to crush
  10. march — the month
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — the animal
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. squash — the sport
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. march — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. toast — bread
  22. mark — a grade
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. press — newspapers

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