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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. press — to push
  3. bass — the fish
  4. present — there
  5. game — wild animals
  6. press — a publisher
  7. track — to keep track
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. tube — a container
  10. bass — low music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. track — a path
  13. present — the time now
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. game — a match
  16. present — a gift
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. sharp — clever
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spring — the season
  21. tube — the underground
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. press — newspapers
  24. track — a song

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