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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. press — newspapers
  3. land — ground
  4. pop — soda
  5. land — a country
  6. fork — in a road
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. press — a publisher
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pop — music
  15. cell — in biology
  16. land — to come down
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. press — to push
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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