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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mate — a friend
  3. land — to come down
  4. object — an aim
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mate — a partner
  7. press — a publisher
  8. land — ground
  9. pop — soda
  10. stem — to come from
  11. object — to protest
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mate — to breed
  16. land — a country
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. press — to push
  24. object — a thing

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