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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. land — a country
  3. cap — a hat
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bear — the animal
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cue — a hint
  10. game — a match
  11. press — to push
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cue — for pool
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wound — an injury
  16. land — to come down
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. land — ground
  20. cap — of ice
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. cue — a signal
  24. press — newspapers

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