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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. press — to push
  6. land — to come down
  7. spring — of water
  8. ground — a position
  9. land — ground
  10. rule — government
  11. rash — hasty
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mine — for digging
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. press — a publisher
  18. ground — the earth
  19. land — a country
  20. kick — in football
  21. rash — a series
  22. rule — a law
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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