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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. squash — the sport
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wound — an injury
  9. march — the month
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — low music
  13. press — to push
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — music
  18. mine — for digging
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bass — the fish

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