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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — an injury
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pitch — completely
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. mate — a partner
  9. press — to push
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. mate — a friend
  16. press — a publisher
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mate — to breed
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bass — low music
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. leaves — of a tree

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