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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cap — a lid
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. court — for sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. press — to push
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. court — of a king
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. court — of law
  14. press — newspapers
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cap — of ice
  19. mine — for digging
  20. squash — the sport
  21. press — a publisher
  22. squash — to crush
  23. swing — music
  24. cap — a hat

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