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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. land — a country
  3. track — to keep track
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. press — to push
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. degree — from a university
  10. track — a path
  11. ground — the earth
  12. land — to come down
  13. file — a tool
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. track — a song
  17. snap — to click
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. ground — a position
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. file — a document
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. land — ground

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