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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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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fine — all right
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mine — for digging
  5. land — to come down
  6. press — to push
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. club — for golf
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. press — newspapers
  13. club — a group
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. land — a country
  16. press — a publisher
  17. spring — the season
  18. swing — in golf
  19. spring — of water
  20. swing — music
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. swing — to play on
  23. land — ground
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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