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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: wake · mine · dip · land · swing · press · pitcher · bore

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. press — a publisher
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bore — to tire
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — ground
  14. swing — in golf
  15. land — a country
  16. swing — music
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. press — to push
  22. bore — to drill
  23. wake — a trail
  24. land — to come down

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