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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 120 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. chip — to eat
  4. press — a publisher
  5. staff — employees
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — from a university
  11. press — newspapers
  12. spring — the season
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. spring — of water
  15. staff — employees
  16. press — to push
  17. stand — to bear
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chip — for betting
  21. court — of law
  22. degree — temperature
  23. staff — a stick
  24. court — for sport

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