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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 116 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. season — of the year
  3. land — a country
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. land — to come down
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. drill — the tool
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. land — ground
  17. bat — the animal
  18. drill — army training
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. cold — not warm
  21. season — in sport
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. press — to push
  24. perch — for a bird

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