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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ball — a great time
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cold — an illness
  6. squash — the sport
  7. present — a gift
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. press — a publisher
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. press — newspapers
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a committee
  21. press — to push
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cold — the Cold War

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