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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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 — belonging to me
  2. lie — to recline
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cold — not warm
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. staff — employees
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. press — newspapers
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. press — to push
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. land — a country
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. mine — for digging
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — an illness
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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