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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. swing — in golf
  5. field — farmland
  6. tube — a container
  7. spring — the season
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. spring — of water
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. field — a subject
  14. swing — to play on
  15. tube — the underground
  16. spring — a coil
  17. tear — from crying
  18. key — in music
  19. press — newspapers
  20. swing — music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. tear — to rip
  23. field — for sport
  24. tear — from crying

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