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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · squash · game · mug · bulb · court · prune · kid

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mug — a cup
  3. kid — to tease
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mug — a face
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. court — of law
  12. game — wild animals
  13. court — for sport
  14. game — a match
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bulb — for light
  17. squash — the sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mug — to rob
  24. press — to push

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