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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. dip — to sink
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. press — to push
  8. spring — of water
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. press — newspapers
  11. craft — boats
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. craft — a skill
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. press — a publisher
  17. spring — the season
  18. shower — rain
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. shower — to wash

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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