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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. press — a publisher
  6. spring — the season
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spring — a coil
  10. season — of the year
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. press — to push
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. face — to confront
  22. wound — an injury
  23. season — in sport
  24. press — newspapers

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