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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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Word bank
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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: row · cold · mark · land · bulb · rest · press · ground

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rest — a break
  8. ground — a position
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — a country
  11. ground — crushed
  12. land — ground
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cold — an illness
  15. press — to push
  16. rest — what's left
  17. press — a publisher
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mark — a trace
  20. press — newspapers
  21. land — to come down
  22. bulb — for light
  23. row — a line
  24. bulb — for light

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