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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. press — a publisher
  3. spring — the season
  4. row — a line
  5. spring — a coil
  6. land — a country
  7. wake — a trail
  8. firm — decided
  9. pop — soda
  10. land — ground
  11. firm — a company
  12. land — to come down
  13. bound — certain
  14. pop — music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bound — obliged
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. spring — of water
  22. press — to push
  23. firm — steady
  24. press — newspapers

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