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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bat — the animal
  4. press — to push
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bore — to drill
  8. squash — to crush
  9. scale — in music
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. squash — the sport
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bore — to tire
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bore — gave birth

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