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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. ground — a position
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. press — a publisher
  10. staff — employees
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. staff — a stick
  13. dip — to sink
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. ball — a dance
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — to push
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. staff — employees
  21. press — newspapers
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. land — a country
  24. ground — the earth

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