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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 116 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. squash — to crush
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kick — in football
  9. degree — an amount
  10. press — to push
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. saw — the tool
  13. drill — the tool
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. press — a publisher
  16. squash — the sport
  17. degree — temperature
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. press — newspapers
  21. drill — army training
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. drill — a practice
  24. degree — from a university

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