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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ball — a dance
  3. press — to push
  4. craft — boats
  5. rest — a break
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spring — the season
  8. bore — to tire
  9. rest — what's left
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. spring — a coil
  13. degree — from a university
  14. craft — a skill
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bore — to drill
  23. stem — of a plant
  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