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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. can — a tin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. press — newspapers
  5. drill — army training
  6. press — a publisher
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. craft — boats
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. can — a tin
  18. season — in sport
  19. can — to be able to
  20. press — to push
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. season — of the year
  24. drill — a practice

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