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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. land — ground
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wake — a trail
  8. press — a publisher
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — a friend
  11. root — the cause
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. face — part of the head
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. press — to push
  17. face — to confront
  18. mate — to breed
  19. land — a country
  20. press — newspapers
  21. kick — in football
  22. land — to come down
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. face — to point toward

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