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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. press — a publisher
  3. staff — employees
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. ball — a dance
  7. spring — the season
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. press — newspapers
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. land — a country
  18. press — to push
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. ball — a great time
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. dip — to sink
  23. staff — employees
  24. dip — to dunk

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