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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bear — the animal
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wind — moving air
  11. present — the time now
  12. press — to push
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chair — a leader
  16. present — there
  17. plane — a tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. present — a gift
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. press — newspapers

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