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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. mine — for digging
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. land — a country
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — an illness
  10. land — to come down
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cue — a signal
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cue — a hint
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. press — a publisher
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. land — ground
  21. prune — to trim
  22. dip — to sink
  23. kick — in football
  24. cue — for pool

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