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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. fork — in a road
  3. content — the amount
  4. press — to push
  5. press — newspapers
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. content — happy
  9. roll — a cake
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. clip — a video
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. squash — to crush
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. press — a publisher
  24. roll — on a roll

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