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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. squash — the sport
  4. press — to push
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. squash — to crush
  8. lean — thin
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. press — a publisher
  15. rush — hurry
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. press — newspapers
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rule — government
  21. lean — to bend
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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