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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. press — a publisher
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — a group
  5. land — to come down
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fall — to drop
  14. branch — a division
  15. press — to push
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. club — for golf
  20. file — a document
  21. fall — to drop
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fall — the season
  24. mine — for digging

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