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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tube — a container
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tube — the underground
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. press — newspapers
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. press — to push
  18. squash — to crush
  19. fall — to drop
  20. press — a publisher
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. rule — government
  23. fall — the season
  24. squash — the sport

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