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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cap — a hat
  3. press — newspapers
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mine — for digging
  6. press — a publisher
  7. ground — a position
  8. track — a path
  9. file — a line of people
  10. swing — to play on
  11. track — a song
  12. swing — music
  13. press — to push
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cap — of ice
  16. file — a tool
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. file — a document
  19. rest — what's left
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rest — a break
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cap — a lid
  24. ground — crushed

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