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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: press · squash · clip · bulb · bay · race · net · wind

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. race — humankind
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. press — to push
  8. net — after costs
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wind — moving air
  11. net — for catching
  12. press — a publisher
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. race — a contest
  18. press — newspapers
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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