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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. sharp — clever
  3. object — an aim
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. object — to protest
  6. court — of law
  7. march — music
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. root — of a word
  11. press — newspapers
  12. object — a thing
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — of a king
  15. press — a publisher
  16. root — the cause
  17. march — the month
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. march — the month
  20. chip — to eat
  21. root — of a plant
  22. chip — for betting
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chip — in a computer

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