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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 120 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. press — a publisher
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mate — a partner
  5. press — to push
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wax — to grow
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ground — the earth
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. press — newspapers
  14. ground — crushed
  15. squash — the sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. ground — a position
  20. file — a tool
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lie — an untruth
  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