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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. press — to push
  8. spring — of water
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cell — in biology
  12. press — newspapers
  13. season — of the year
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. season — in sport
  17. cue — a signal
  18. row — to paddle

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