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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. squash — the sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. press — a publisher
  10. last — final
  11. wound — an injury
  12. press — to push
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. deal — to handle
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. last — finally
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stem — to come from
  22. last — to go on
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pitch — completely

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