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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. content — happy
  3. press — to push
  4. stock — shares
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. ground — crushed
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bulb — for light
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. press — a publisher
  19. stock — goods
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bulb — for light
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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