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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: field · tube · press · cabinet · saw · tear · squash · sharp

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. tube — the underground
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. saw — the tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. field — for sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. saw — the tool
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. field — farmland
  15. tube — a container
  16. tear — to rip
  17. press — to push
  18. field — a subject
  19. sharp — clever
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — the sport
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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