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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. suit — in cards
  2. spring — of water
  3. suit — to fit
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spring — the season
  13. pit — in a race
  14. suit — clothes
  15. track — a song
  16. plane — a tool
  17. squash — to crush
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — a hole
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  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