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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bound — tied together
  5. lie — to recline
  6. press — newspapers
  7. spring — of water
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — of ice
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bound — certain
  16. field — for sport
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. spring — the season
  21. bound — obliged
  22. press — a publisher
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. press — to push

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