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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. present — there
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. present — a gift
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rule — government
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pit — a hole
  14. rule — a law
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. present — the time now
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pit — in a race

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