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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. press — to push
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. net — for catching
  5. snap — to click
  6. squash — the sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — a trail
  9. net — in sport
  10. press — a publisher
  11. drill — the tool
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. drill — a practice
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. drill — army training
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. net — after costs
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. press — newspapers
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stem — to come from

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