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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. press — to push
  3. court — of a king
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cap — a hat
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. court — of law
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cap — a lid
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. foot — a measure
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. content — the amount

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