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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. can — to be able to
  3. rest — what's left
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. press — to push
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rest — what's left
  8. land — a country
  9. rest — a break
  10. can — a tin
  11. bound — tied together
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bound — certain
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. can — a tin
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. land — to come down
  22. press — newspapers
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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