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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. season — of the year
  3. clip — a video
  4. fall — to drop
  5. press — to push
  6. bound — obliged
  7. press — a publisher
  8. squash — to crush
  9. race — the arms race
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bound — tied together
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bass — low music
  18. race — a contest
  19. bound — certain
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. race — humankind
  23. fall — the season
  24. season — in sport

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