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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wind — moving air
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wind — moving air
  10. press — to push
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — for catching
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. press — newspapers
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. spring — of water
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. spring — a coil

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