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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ground — the earth
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ground — a position
  5. season — of the year
  6. press — to push
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — a country
  9. bass — the fish
  10. season — in sport
  11. land — to come down
  12. scale — size or range
  13. press — newspapers
  14. ground — crushed
  15. land — ground
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. press — a publisher
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bass — low music
  24. wound — an injury

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