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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. net — in sport
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. spell — magic
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. spell — a short time
  8. land — to come down
  9. spell — letters
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. press — to push
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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