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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 124 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bulb — for light
  7. land — a country
  8. press — to push
  9. roll — a cake
  10. land — to come down
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — a list
  13. object — a thing
  14. hand — help
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pound — a weight
  21. object — to protest
  22. press — newspapers
  23. object — an aim
  24. pound — to hit hard

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