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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. season — of the year
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — a country
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. press — to push
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. spell — letters
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. season — in sport
  18. land — ground
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. land — to come down
  22. saw — the tool
  23. press — a publisher
  24. season — to add flavour

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