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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. present — a gift
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. press — to push
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. press — newspapers
  9. object — to protest
  10. field — farmland
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. current — electric
  13. present — there
  14. current — of water
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. object — an aim
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. press — a publisher
  21. present — the time now
  22. current — happening now
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. object — a thing

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