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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. game — a match
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. press — to push
  7. pound — a weight
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. row — to paddle
  14. land — ground
  15. race — humankind
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. stock — shares
  19. land — to come down
  20. row — a line
  21. press — newspapers
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. land — a country

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