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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. press — newspapers
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wake — a trail
  7. press — a publisher
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. pound — a weight
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. clip — a video
  14. spring — the season
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. press — to push
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. spring — of water
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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