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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. plane — a tool
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chest — of your body
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. press — a publisher
  18. chest — a box
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. plane — an aircraft

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