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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. spring — of water
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. spring — a coil
  8. track — a song
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pound — a weight
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — to push
  13. scale — in music
  14. press — newspapers
  15. tear — to rip
  16. spring — the season
  17. cap — of ice
  18. track — to keep track
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cap — a hat
  21. tear — from crying
  22. track — a path
  23. fork — in a road
  24. scale — size or range

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