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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. band — a ring
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. object — to protest
  5. snap — to click
  6. press — to push
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. band — a music group
  10. race — humankind
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. press — newspapers
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rush — hurry
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. race — a contest
  21. squash — the sport
  22. race — the arms race
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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