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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bank — for money
  3. staff — a stick
  4. spring — the season
  5. staff — employees
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chest — of your body
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bank — for money
  17. spring — of water
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — a video
  20. chest — a box
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bank — of a river

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