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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. prune — to trim
  5. key — in music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. key — for a lock
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. key — the most important part
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — not warm
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. bulb — for light
  23. drill — army training
  24. cold — the Cold War

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