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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: press · bat · kid · squash · branch · deal · straw · mate

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mate — a partner
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. press — newspapers
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bat — the animal
  16. branch — a division
  17. mate — to breed
  18. press — a publisher
  19. kid — to tease
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mate — a friend
  23. squash — the sport
  24. kid — child

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