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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. press — to push
  3. kick — in football
  4. press — a publisher
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. land — to come down
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — a path
  22. land — ground
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. pitcher — a jug

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