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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. press — a publisher
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. press — newspapers
  9. spring — of water
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rush — hurry
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ground — a position
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. spring — the season
  22. rock — a stone
  23. press — to push
  24. ground — the earth

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