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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. squash — the sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. current — electric
  8. face — part of the head
  9. club — for golf
  10. squash — to crush
  11. club — for dancing
  12. current — happening now
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. net — after costs
  15. club — a group
  16. face — to point toward
  17. current — of water
  18. press — to push
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fork — in a road
  22. face — to confront
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — the vegetable

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