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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — the cause
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. last — finally
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. squash — the sport
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. file — a document
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitch — completely
  18. last — final
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. root — of a plant
  21. last — to go on
  22. press — to push
  23. squash — to crush
  24. file — a tool

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