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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. press — to push
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spring — of water
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wound — an injury
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wake — a trail
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. spring — a coil
  14. dip — to sink
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. game — a match
  22. press — a publisher
  23. plane — a tool
  24. spring — the season

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