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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. spring — the season
  3. roll — a cake
  4. spring — of water
  5. file — a tool
  6. press — to push
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. object — a thing
  12. press — a publisher
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. object — an aim
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. file — a document
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. object — to protest
  20. mine — for digging
  21. file — a line of people
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stick — a piece of wood

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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