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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. saw — the tool
  3. content — happy
  4. net — for catching
  5. cue — for pool
  6. net — after costs
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. press — newspapers
  10. net — in sport
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitch — completely
  14. content — the amount
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. race — humankind
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. race — a contest
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. press — a publisher

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