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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. kick — in football
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cue — a signal
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. land — ground
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — a list
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. toast — bread
  16. press — to push
  17. land — to come down
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cue — for pool
  22. press — newspapers
  23. cue — a hint
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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