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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spell — letters
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. track — a path
  15. spell — magic
  16. press — to push
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. spring — of water
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. press — a publisher
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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