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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. spring — of water
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bulb — for light
  7. spring — the season
  8. kid — to tease
  9. ball — a great time
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kid — child
  15. press — newspapers
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pass — a permit
  18. branch — a division
  19. press — a publisher
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. mine — for digging
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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