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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 · land · roll · snap · spring · row · pit · bowl

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. snap — to click
  3. press — to push
  4. press — newspapers
  5. spring — of water
  6. land — a country
  7. row — a line
  8. spring — the season
  9. land — to come down
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. spring — a coil
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. land — ground
  22. press — a publisher
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pit — in a race

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