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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. shower — to wash
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. land — to come down
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rock — a stone
  12. shower — rain
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. land — a country
  16. rock — music
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers
  19. prune — to trim
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. land — ground
  22. degree — from a university
  23. prune — to trim
  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