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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 120 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 · ground · cap · content · land · wave · pitcher · track

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. track — a song
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — to come down
  6. track — a path
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cap — a lid
  9. land — a country
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ground — a position
  14. press — to push
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. content — happy
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. land — ground
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. ground — the earth
  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