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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. net — in sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. press — a publisher
  5. spring — the season
  6. press — to push
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wax — to grow
  9. sharp — clever
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. press — newspapers
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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