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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. press — to push
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stock — goods
  11. staff — employees
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. sharp — clever
  15. court — for sport
  16. squash — the sport
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. court — of a king
  19. staff — employees
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stock — shares
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. court — of law

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