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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · squash · press · pitcher · jam · lie · tube · march

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — to push
  6. lie — to recline
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — not warm
  12. press — a publisher
  13. tube — a container
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. tube — the underground
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. squash — to crush
  19. march — the month
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — music
  22. squash — the sport
  23. march — the month
  24. lie — an untruth

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