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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. press — newspapers
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stock — goods
  9. scale — in music
  10. deal — to handle
  11. land — a country
  12. stock — shares
  13. shower — rain
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. land — to come down
  19. press — to push
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. spring — the season
  23. scale — size or range
  24. press — a publisher

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