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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cell — a phone
  3. squash — the sport
  4. mate — to breed
  5. club — for golf
  6. press — a publisher
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cell — in biology
  9. press — newspapers
  10. current — happening now
  11. rest — what's left
  12. press — to push
  13. club — a group
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. mate — a friend
  17. game — a match
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. current — electric
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. current — of water
  23. mate — a partner
  24. game — a kind of play

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