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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 120 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. press — a publisher
  3. spring — the season
  4. court — of a king
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. press — to push
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. pitch — completely
  10. staff — a stick
  11. land — a country
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. land — to come down
  14. court — for sport
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. court — of law
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. spring — a coil
  19. land — ground
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. press — newspapers
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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