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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. deal — to handle
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tear — from crying
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. press — newspapers
  13. march — the month
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. spell — magic
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cell — in biology
  22. press — to push
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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