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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. suit — clothes
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. suit — to fit
  9. pit — a hole
  10. press — to push
  11. squash — the sport
  12. shower — rain
  13. suit — in cards
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. press — a publisher
  17. court — for sport
  18. pop — soda
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. court — of a king
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. press — newspapers
  24. court — of law

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