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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: stick · lie · shower · cap · press · pitch · squash · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cap — a hat
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cap — of ice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. content — happy
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. press — to push
  13. lie — to recline
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. shower — rain

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