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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bore — to tire
  3. race — humankind
  4. craft — boats
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. spell — letters
  7. bore — to drill
  8. spell — magic
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spell — a short time
  11. snap — to click
  12. squash — to crush
  13. craft — a skill
  14. race — the arms race
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. race — a contest
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bass — low music
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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