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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chest — a box
  3. spring — a coil
  4. press — a publisher
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. last — finally
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. spring — the season
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bulb — for light
  15. last — final
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bulb — for light
  19. last — to go on
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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