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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
468
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: mouse · land · pit · press · squash · hand · spring · kick

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. press — a publisher
  4. hand — in cards
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. press — to push
  7. squash — to crush
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pit — a hole
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pit — in a race
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. spring — the season
  17. land — a country
  18. spring — of water
  19. squash — the sport
  20. hand — help
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. spring — a coil

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