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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. charge — in control
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. press — to push
  6. present — there
  7. rest — a break
  8. present — the time now
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. charge — electricity
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. press — newspapers
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bat — the animal
  18. squash — to crush
  19. present — a gift
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. press — a publisher
  22. charge — a price
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mine — an explosive

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