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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. rest — what's left
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — newspapers
  7. swing — music
  8. snap — to click
  9. cold — not warm
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. dip — to sink
  16. rest — what's left
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. press — to push
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. rest — a break

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