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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. squash — to crush
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lean — thin
  5. press — newspapers
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rock — music
  11. race — humankind
  12. press — a publisher
  13. squash — the sport
  14. press — to push
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. ball — a great time
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. lean — to bend
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rock — a stone
  24. ball — a round shape

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