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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. press — a publisher
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spell — magic
  8. press — newspapers
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spell — letters
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — of water
  17. mine — for digging
  18. spring — the season
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. press — to push
  21. mate — to breed
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mate — a friend

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