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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: press · season · pop · kid · track · land · vault · firm

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. press — a publisher
  3. season — in sport
  4. firm — a company
  5. season — of the year
  6. press — to push
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. kid — to tease
  10. land — a country
  11. firm — decided
  12. press — newspapers
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pop — music
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pop — soda
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. firm — steady
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. pop — to visit
  24. kid — child

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