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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. spring — the season
  3. fine — all right
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rock — a stone
  6. press — newspapers
  7. band — a music group
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. file — a document
  11. band — a ring
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. file — a tool
  14. press — to push
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. spring — of water
  20. rock — music
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. press — a publisher
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bark — of a tree

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