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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bass — low music
  3. staff — employees
  4. ground — the earth
  5. staff — a stick
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. spring — a coil
  8. dip — to sink
  9. spring — of water
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. ground — crushed
  12. spring — the season
  13. stem — to come from
  14. staff — employees
  15. club — for golf
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bass — the fish
  18. club — a group
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. ground — a position
  24. press — to push

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