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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. prune — to trim
  3. suit — clothes
  4. file — a tool
  5. squash — to crush
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. suit — in cards
  10. file — a line of people
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. prune — to trim
  18. suit — to fit
  19. press — to push
  20. wound — an injury
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — not warm
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. file — a document

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