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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mine — for digging
  3. land — a country
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — tied together
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. file — a document
  9. land — ground
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bound — certain
  12. file — a tool
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. staff — a stick
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. lie — to recline
  19. shower — to wash
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — rain
  22. press — newspapers
  23. file — a line of people
  24. staff — employees

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