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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. present — a gift
  3. squash — to crush
  4. last — to go on
  5. present — there
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. squash — the sport
  8. last — final
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bank — for money
  12. game — wild animals
  13. present — the time now
  14. game — a match
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. press — newspapers
  19. net — after costs
  20. press — to push
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. press — a publisher
  24. rash — a series

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