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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. object — to protest
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. rash — hasty
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. rash — a series
  11. press — newspapers
  12. scale — in music
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. press — a publisher
  15. mine — for digging
  16. object — an aim
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. press — to push
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wound — an injury
  22. object — a thing
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. scale — size or range

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