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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lie — to recline
  3. scale — in music
  4. press — a publisher
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. land — to come down
  7. scale — size or range
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. press — to push
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. press — newspapers
  17. land — ground
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. band — a music group
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — a country
  24. leaves — to go away

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