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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. spring — the season
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. net — after costs
  5. charge — in control
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. press — a publisher
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spring — of water
  13. charge — electricity
  14. press — newspapers
  15. spring — a coil
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. press — to push
  18. charge — a price

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