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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pop — music
  3. game — a match
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. press — newspapers
  9. face — to confront
  10. mine — for digging
  11. press — a publisher
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cap — of ice
  16. degree — temperature
  17. face — part of the head
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — wild animals
  20. squash — to crush
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cap — a lid
  24. squash — the sport

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