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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rock — music
  3. land — to come down
  4. kid — child
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. land — a country
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. land — ground
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ground — the earth
  18. press — to push
  19. ground — a position
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ground — crushed
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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