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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ground — a position
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. press — a publisher
  16. land — to come down
  17. press — to push
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. last — final
  21. ground — the earth
  22. net — for catching
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fork — in a road

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