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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 120 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. land — to come down
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wound — an injury
  5. scale — in music
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. press — to push
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spell — magic
  11. press — newspapers
  12. deal — to handle
  13. spell — letters
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. ground — crushed
  16. land — ground
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wound — an injury
  22. press — a publisher
  23. land — a country
  24. ground — a position

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