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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. press — to push
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. press — a publisher
  4. field — farmland
  5. band — a music group
  6. rest — a break
  7. band — a ring
  8. ball — a dance
  9. race — the arms race
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rest — what's left
  13. race — humankind
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — a subject
  17. squash — to crush
  18. ball — a great time
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. race — a contest
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — for sport
  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