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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. rest — what's left
  3. track — a song
  4. land — to come down
  5. hand — help
  6. press — newspapers
  7. land — a country
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. land — ground
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — to push
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bass — low music
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rest — a break
  22. track — a path
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bass — the fish

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