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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. squash — the sport
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. snap — to click
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wind — moving air
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fall — the season
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. press — to push
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. press — newspapers
  24. squash — to crush

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