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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. spring — of water
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spring — the season
  8. mine — for digging
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — a country
  12. press — newspapers
  13. spell — magic
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. spell — a short time
  19. land — ground
  20. press — to push
  21. spell — letters
  22. land — to come down
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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