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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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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: pop · spring · bore · tear · land · press · clip · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pop — soda
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. clip — to cut
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — a video
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — the season
  14. press — newspapers
  15. game — a match
  16. pop — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pop — to visit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bore — to drill
  23. land — ground
  24. bore — to tire

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