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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 116 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: land · pound · season · row · board · kid · press · drill

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. press — a publisher
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. season — of the year
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. land — to come down
  7. press — to push
  8. drill — army training
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. season — in sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pound — a weight
  14. land — a country
  15. kid — to tease
  16. press — newspapers
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. drill — the tool
  19. kid — child
  20. drill — a practice
  21. board — a committee
  22. row — a line
  23. land — ground
  24. season — to add flavour

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