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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: pit · press · squash · field · wax · snap · temple · file

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. field — a subject
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. file — a document
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — farmland
  10. snap — to click
  11. pit — a hole
  12. file — a tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. field — for sport
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. file — a line of people
  19. press — to push
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pit — in a race
  23. squash — the sport
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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