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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. can — a tin
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. press — to push
  8. degree — from a university
  9. press — newspapers
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. can — to be able to
  12. press — a publisher
  13. face — part of the head
  14. shower — rain
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. land — a country
  20. squash — to crush
  21. land — ground
  22. squash — the sport
  23. land — to come down
  24. can — a tin

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