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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. content — happy
  5. fall — the season
  6. spell — magic
  7. press — a publisher
  8. spell — letters
  9. land — ground
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fall — to drop
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. fall — to drop
  14. roll — a cake
  15. spell — a short time
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bank — for money
  18. roll — a list
  19. bank — for money
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bank — of a river
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. press — to push
  24. content — the amount

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