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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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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: stem · court · squash · game · press · sharp · face · object

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. object — to protest
  3. press — to push
  4. press — newspapers
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stem — to come from
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. court — of law
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. object — an aim
  12. face — to confront
  13. court — of a king
  14. squash — to crush
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — part of the head
  21. object — a thing
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — a match
  24. court — for 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