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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. land — a country
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — ground
  8. spring — a coil
  9. press — newspapers
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. march — the month
  12. saw — the tool
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. press — a publisher
  16. land — to come down
  17. press — to push
  18. march — music

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