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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. staff — employees
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. spring — of water
  7. press — a publisher
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cap — of ice
  10. degree — from a university
  11. staff — employees
  12. cap — a lid
  13. degree — temperature
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stand — to bear
  16. foot — a measure
  17. press — to push
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pop — soda
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. press — newspapers

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