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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bound — obliged
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bound — certain
  9. drill — army training
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. press — to push
  12. mate — a friend
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. squash — to crush
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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