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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 116 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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. root — of a plant
  3. band — a ring
  4. rule — a law
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. press — to push
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. press — a publisher
  12. scale — size or range
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. scale — in music
  15. press — newspapers
  16. root — of a word
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. band — a music group
  20. rule — government
  21. root — the cause
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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