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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bank — for money
  3. spring — of water
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. charge — in control
  6. bank — for money
  7. shower — rain
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bank — of a river
  12. press — a publisher
  13. charge — electricity
  14. clip — for paper
  15. press — newspapers
  16. charge — a price
  17. shower — to wash
  18. press — to push

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