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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. row — a line
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pass — a permit
  7. last — finally
  8. squash — to crush
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. last — final
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. row — to paddle
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. last — to go on
  22. bulb — for light
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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