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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. press — to push
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. land — a country
  5. press — a publisher
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ground — crushed
  9. net — after costs
  10. land — to come down
  11. dip — to sink
  12. cold — not warm
  13. net — in sport
  14. press — newspapers
  15. suit — to fit
  16. suit — clothes
  17. net — for catching
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. suit — in cards
  22. bass — low music
  23. ground — a position
  24. dip — to dunk

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