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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. saw — the tool
  3. present — a gift
  4. press — to push
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spring — of water
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. present — there
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spring — a coil
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. press — a publisher
  20. saw — the tool
  21. present — the time now
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rush — a thrill
  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