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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. spring — the season
  4. court — for sport
  5. spring — a coil
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. press — a publisher
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — of water
  13. snap — to click
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. court — of a king
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. court — of law
  23. press — to push
  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