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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spring — of water
  5. fine — high quality
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. press — a publisher
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. press — newspapers
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cold — not warm
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spring — the season
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. fine — all right
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. court — of a king
  24. stem — to come from

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