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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 · cold · bay · nail · rest · mark · date · press

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rest — a break
  5. land — ground
  6. press — to push
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mark — a trace
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. press — newspapers
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — a country
  17. date — the fruit
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. mark — a grade
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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