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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tube — a container
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. season — of the year
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. season — in sport
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tube — the underground
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. band — a music group
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. band — a ring
  22. mine — for digging
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. press — newspapers

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