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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: land · content · press · pop · saw · bat · rock · game

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — ground
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bat — the animal
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. pop — soda
  8. land — a country
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pop — to visit
  11. press — a publisher
  12. game — wild animals
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — happy
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. pop — music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. press — to push
  22. land — to come down
  23. game — a match
  24. content — the amount

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