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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. ground — a position
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. press — newspapers
  6. ground — crushed
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. press — to push
  9. cap — a hat
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. press — a publisher
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cap — a lid
  14. ground — the earth
  15. spring — a coil
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spring — of water
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — the season
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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