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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. chip — to eat
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rash — hasty
  7. press — newspapers
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. press — to push
  15. net — after costs
  16. chip — for betting
  17. net — in sport
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mate — to breed
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — for catching
  24. rash — a series

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