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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — in sport
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. press — newspapers
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — clever
  11. press — to push
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. squash — the sport
  19. shower — rain
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. press — a publisher

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