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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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. hide — animal skin
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mate — a partner
  7. race — humankind
  8. mate — to breed
  9. file — a tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. track — a path
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. squash — to crush
  16. kick — in football
  17. track — a song
  18. file — a document
  19. mate — a friend
  20. press — newspapers
  21. track — to keep track
  22. press — to push
  23. file — a line of people
  24. race — a contest

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