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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 120 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: press · squash · rush · club · kid · can · game · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. squash — the sport
  3. can — a tin
  4. press — to push
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. kid — child
  7. club — for golf
  8. press — a publisher
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. can — to be able to
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rush — hurry
  16. club — for dancing
  17. can — a tin
  18. kid — to tease
  19. game — wild animals
  20. club — a group
  21. game — a match
  22. squash — to crush
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. press — newspapers

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