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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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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: date · land · toast · press · chair · swing · squash · bay

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. swing — to play on
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. press — to push
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. press — a publisher
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. land — a country
  11. date — the fruit
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. toast — bread
  14. swing — music
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. swing — in golf
  18. land — ground
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. land — to come down
  22. squash — to crush
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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