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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 120 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. dip — to sink
  7. net — after costs
  8. court — for sport
  9. press — newspapers
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. court — of law
  13. net — for catching
  14. race — humankind
  15. court — of a king
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. squash — to crush
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. net — in sport
  23. race — a contest
  24. squash — the vegetable

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