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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. cap — a lid
  3. press — to push
  4. cap — of ice
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — the season
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chair — a leader
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. spring — of water
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. press — newspapers
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cap — a hat
  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