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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. press — newspapers
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cap — a lid
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cap — a hat
  22. branch — a division
  23. press — a publisher
  24. cap — of ice

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