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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. last — final
  3. rule — a law
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. press — a publisher
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. press — newspapers
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. board — to get on
  13. sharp — clever
  14. season — in sport
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. board — a committee
  17. press — to push
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. rule — government
  22. squash — to crush
  23. date — on the calendar
  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