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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cap — of ice
  3. charge — electricity
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. lean — to bend
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cap — a lid
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cap — a hat
  14. press — to push
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — newspapers
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — a price
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ball — a great time
  24. lean — thin

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