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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wake — a trail
  4. ball — a great time
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. land — ground
  7. net — for catching
  8. pop — music
  9. root — of a plant
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pop — to visit
  14. land — a country
  15. squash — to crush
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. squash — the sport
  19. land — to come down
  20. root — of a word
  21. pop — soda
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. press — to push
  24. root — the cause

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