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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. ground — crushed
  3. press — to push
  4. fine — high quality
  5. land — a country
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. fine — all right
  10. press — a publisher
  11. swing — to play on
  12. spring — the season
  13. ground — a position
  14. prune — to trim
  15. land — ground
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. swing — music
  19. press — newspapers
  20. swing — in golf
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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