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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. last — finally
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — newspapers
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hand — help
  7. press — a publisher
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. squash — to crush
  14. last — to go on
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. content — happy
  17. squash — the sport
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. content — the amount
  20. vault — a safe
  21. hand — in cards
  22. press — to push
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. last — final

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