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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bound — obliged
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bound — certain
  5. object — a thing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bat — the animal
  9. press — newspapers
  10. chip — for betting
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. object — an aim
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. press — a publisher
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cap — of ice
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. press — to push

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