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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 ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bank — for money
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a city
  5. press — to push
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pop — soda
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kid — child
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pop — music
  17. spring — of water
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bank — for money
  22. drill — the tool
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. capital — money

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