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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — to come down
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. swing — music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. land — a country
  8. press — to push
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pop — music
  12. spring — the season
  13. press — a publisher
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. press — newspapers
  16. spring — of water
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pound — a weight
  19. swing — to play on
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cell — a phone

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