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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: cold · date · stock · rush · pitch · press · bulb · squash

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bulb — for light
  7. date — the fruit
  8. press — to push
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. press — newspapers
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. press — a publisher
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitch — completely
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stock — shares
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rush — hurry

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