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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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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: cap · press · kid · scale · drill · squash · snap · lash

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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. drill — the tool
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cap — of ice
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. kid — child
  11. cap — a lid
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. squash — the sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. kid — to tease
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. press — a publisher
  20. snap — to click
  21. drill — army training
  22. scale — size or range
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cap — a hat

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