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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: squash · plane · press · vault · straw · track · net · kid

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. net — for catching
  6. press — a publisher
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. net — in sport
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. press — newspapers
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. kid — child
  15. squash — the sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. track — a song
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. track — to keep track
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. track — a path
  22. kid — to tease
  23. net — after costs
  24. plane — a tool

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