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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bound — obliged
  8. press — a publisher
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. press — to push
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bound — certain
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bound — tied together
  20. land — ground
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. sharp — clever
  23. press — newspapers
  24. land — to come down

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