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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hand — help
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — an illness
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fork — in a road
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. press — newspapers
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. press — to push

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