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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. club — for golf
  7. spell — letters
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. press — a publisher
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. press — newspapers
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — for digging
  18. prune — to trim
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. prune — to trim
  21. snap — to click
  22. ground — the earth
  23. club — for dancing
  24. kick — in football

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