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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cell — a phone
  3. squash — the sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. game — wild animals
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fall — to drop
  11. board — to get on
  12. fall — the season
  13. press — a publisher
  14. root — of a plant
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. press — newspapers
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cell — in biology
  19. board — a committee
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. game — a match
  24. press — to push

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