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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. press — to push
  4. present — a gift
  5. foot — a measure
  6. spring — the season
  7. fine — all right
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. present — the time now
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. shower — rain
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. fine — high quality
  19. present — there
  20. press — newspapers
  21. squash — the sport
  22. spring — of water
  23. press — a publisher
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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