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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. craft — a skill
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — a publisher
  6. club — for golf
  7. craft — boats
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rash — hasty
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. club — for dancing
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. club — a group
  20. kid — to tease
  21. net — for catching
  22. kid — child
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rash — a series

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