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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. net — after costs
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spring — the season
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cold — an illness
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. stand — to bear
  12. net — in sport
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. press — to push
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. press — a publisher
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. net — for catching
  23. spring — of water
  24. branch — of a bank

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