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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. land — a country
  2. rock — music
  3. land — to come down
  4. march — the month
  5. land — ground
  6. rock — a stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. press — a publisher
  9. date — the fruit
  10. march — the month
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pit — in a race
  14. press — to push
  15. march — music
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. last — final
  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