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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. ground — a position
  5. press — newspapers
  6. kick — in football
  7. land — ground
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. track — a path
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — the earth
  16. land — to come down
  17. shower — rain
  18. tear — from crying
  19. track — a song
  20. shower — to wash
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. tear — from crying
  24. track — to keep track

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