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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 124 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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fork — in a road
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bear — the animal
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — not warm
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. squash — the sport
  18. game — wild animals
  19. press — to push
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. trunk — of a tree

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