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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chair — a leader
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. game — a match
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. snap — to click

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