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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: squash · cabinet · press · row · ball · drill · clip · bank

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bank — for money
  5. press — newspapers
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bank — for money
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. ball — a great time
  11. clip — a video
  12. row — a line
  13. press — a publisher
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. drill — the tool
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. press — to push
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bank — of a river

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