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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 120 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: capital · staff · shower · bat · temple · squash · mug · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. shower — to wash
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a cup
  14. capital — money
  15. press — a publisher
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. capital — a city
  21. staff — employees
  22. shower — rain
  23. mug — a face
  24. bat — the animal

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