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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · press · cell · deal · land · swing · rest · club

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. ground — a position
  4. land — a country
  5. cell — a phone
  6. land — ground
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. club — for dancing
  9. swing — music
  10. ground — the earth
  11. club — for golf
  12. swing — in golf
  13. deal — to handle
  14. land — to come down
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cell — in biology
  21. swing — to play on
  22. rest — a break
  23. club — a group
  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