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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bank — for money
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. content — the amount
  11. land — a country
  12. wound — an injury
  13. net — after costs
  14. content — happy
  15. net — for catching
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cell — a phone
  18. land — ground
  19. bank — for money
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bank — of a river
  22. net — in sport
  23. land — to come down
  24. press — a publisher

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