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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pound — a weight
  3. squash — to crush
  4. spring — of water
  5. rest — what's left
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. press — newspapers
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rest — a break
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. press — to push
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. spring — the season

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