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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ground — the earth
  3. spell — magic
  4. cue — a hint
  5. press — a publisher
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spell — letters
  8. chest — a box
  9. ground — a position
  10. cue — a signal
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. press — newspapers
  14. squash — the sport
  15. press — to push
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cue — for pool
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. content — happy
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stem — to come from
  24. chest — of your body

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