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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kick — in football
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. squash — the sport
  15. firm — a company
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — steady
  20. content — the amount
  21. game — a match
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  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