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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cap — a lid
  4. squash — to crush
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. face — part of the head
  9. prune — to trim
  10. press — to push
  11. race — the arms race
  12. prune — to trim
  13. press — a publisher
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. press — newspapers
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. squash — the sport

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