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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. press — a publisher
  3. root — the cause
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rock — a stone
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. root — of a word
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. press — to push
  13. mate — to breed
  14. press — newspapers
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mate — a partner
  17. spring — of water
  18. rock — music
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. rock — to move gently

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