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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. land — to come down
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rule — government
  5. press — a publisher
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. land — ground
  12. rule — a law
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spring — the season
  19. land — a country
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. press — to push
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. press — newspapers

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