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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. key — for a lock
  13. press — to push
  14. land — to come down
  15. key — the most important part
  16. snap — to click
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bat — the animal
  20. key — in music
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. press — a publisher
  23. prune — to trim
  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