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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.

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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. spring — the season
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. press — newspapers
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. press — to push
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. press — a publisher
  24. prune — to trim

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