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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. land — a country
  3. band — a music group
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a ring
  6. press — newspapers
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. land — to come down
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. spring — of water
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — happy
  14. spring — the season
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pound — a weight
  17. fine — high quality
  18. stock — shares
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. stock — goods
  22. press — to push
  23. spring — a coil
  24. press — a publisher

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