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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. squash — to crush
  3. scale — size or range
  4. present — a gift
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chest — a box
  7. present — the time now
  8. squash — the sport
  9. charge — electricity
  10. press — to push
  11. charge — a price
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chest — of your body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. present — there
  23. press — newspapers
  24. charge — in control

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