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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. last — final
  3. press — a publisher
  4. land — a country
  5. press — to push
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. mate — a friend
  9. last — to go on
  10. press — newspapers
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wind — moving air
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. last — finally
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. net — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — ground
  24. mate — a partner

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