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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  2. squash — the sport
  3. band — a ring
  4. press — to push
  5. track — to keep track
  6. band — a music group
  7. shower — rain
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. press — a publisher
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bulb — for light
  14. ground — a position
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ground — crushed
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bulb — for light
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. shower — to wash
  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