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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. press — a publisher
  3. rash — a series
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — a country
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — not warm
  10. land — to come down
  11. press — newspapers
  12. date — the fruit
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. mine — for digging

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