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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. land — a country
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — ground
  7. current — electric
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. current — of water
  10. band — a music group
  11. scale — size or range
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. scale — in music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. land — to come down
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. net — after costs
  18. current — happening now
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. net — for catching
  21. press — a publisher
  22. band — a ring
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. press — newspapers

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