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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. press — to push
  3. land — a country
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. sharp — clever
  6. present — a gift
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — there
  12. press — a publisher
  13. present — the time now
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. cap — a hat
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. land — to come down
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bat — the animal

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