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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. press — a publisher
  3. land — to come down
  4. press — newspapers
  5. can — a tin
  6. land — ground
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. present — a gift
  9. squash — to crush
  10. present — the time now
  11. press — to push
  12. present — there
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spell — letters
  16. land — a country
  17. can — a tin
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. spell — a short time
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. squash — the sport
  22. spell — magic
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. can — to be able to

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