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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: bat · rash · squash · cabinet · hand · leaves · press · pass

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. squash — to crush
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pass — a permit
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rash — a series
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. press — newspapers
  22. hand — help
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pass — to spend time

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