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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. land — ground
  3. track — a path
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — to tease
  7. land — a country
  8. mate — to breed
  9. land — to come down
  10. track — a song
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. shower — rain
  21. press — to push
  22. kid — child
  23. press — a publisher
  24. track — to keep track

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