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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mine — for digging
  4. press — to push
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. land — to come down
  8. press — a publisher
  9. cell — a phone
  10. press — newspapers
  11. mug — a face
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. root — the cause
  15. mug — a cup
  16. land — ground
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. root — of a plant
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. root — of a word
  24. land — a country

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