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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · cold · march · racket · chip · shower · press · last

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. chip — to eat
  3. last — finally
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. last — to go on
  8. squash — the sport
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — to wash
  11. press — to push
  12. chip — for betting
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cold — not warm
  15. march — music
  16. press — a publisher
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. march — the month
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. last — final
  23. press — newspapers
  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