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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 · bank · sharp · pound · mark · tear · spring

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. spring — of water
  3. press — to push
  4. land — to come down
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spring — the season
  7. mark — a grade
  8. land — a country
  9. bank — for money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — a publisher
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bank — of a river
  17. tear — to rip
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. land — ground
  20. bank — for money
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mark — a trace
  24. pound — a weight

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