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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. craft — boats
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. race — a contest
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. race — humankind
  11. squash — the sport
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. press — a publisher
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. squash — to crush
  20. game — a match
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. craft — a skill
  24. squash — the vegetable

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