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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: squash · press · land · hide · cap · wake · lean · cell

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cap — of ice
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wake — a trail
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. press — a publisher
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cell — a phone
  14. land — to come down
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. press — to push
  17. cap — a lid
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. squash — the sport
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. lean — thin
  22. land — a country
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cap — a hat

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