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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — an illness
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rash — hasty
  8. spring — the season
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bound — certain
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. press — to push
  15. fall — the season
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bound — obliged
  18. toast — bread
  19. press — newspapers
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. rash — a series
  24. mouse — the animal

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