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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. suit — clothes
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. suit — in cards
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. field — for sport
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. press — a publisher
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cold — not warm
  17. field — a subject
  18. press — to push
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. field — farmland
  24. bowl — to roll

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