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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cap — a lid
  5. land — to come down
  6. row — a line
  7. press — a publisher
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rest — a break
  11. land — ground
  12. press — to push
  13. mine — for digging
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cap — of ice
  17. land — a country
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bound — certain
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bound — obliged

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