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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: nail · shower · press · foot · squash · rush · last · bat

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. last — final
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. rush — hurry
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. squash — to crush
  14. press — newspapers
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. last — finally
  22. foot — a measure
  23. last — to go on
  24. foot — the bottom

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