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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: game · swing · wound · club · press · squash · drill · chair

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. squash — to crush
  3. press — to push
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. squash — the sport
  6. club — for dancing
  7. drill — army training
  8. game — wild animals
  9. club — for golf
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. drill — a practice
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. swing — to play on
  18. game — a match
  19. press — newspapers
  20. club — a group
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chair — a leader

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