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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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Word bank
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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. march — music
  3. press — newspapers
  4. squash — to crush
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lean — to bend
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. court — of law
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. press — to push
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. court — for sport
  18. march — the month
  19. pit — a hole
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — of a king
  23. fall — to drop
  24. press — a publisher

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