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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. land — ground
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. file — a document
  7. ball — a dance
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rule — government
  10. game — a match
  11. land — a country
  12. pop — soda
  13. rule — a law
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. land — to come down
  17. tube — the underground
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. press — newspapers
  20. file — a line of people
  21. game — wild animals
  22. press — to push
  23. ball — a great time
  24. file — a tool

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