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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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Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. firm — steady
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. firm — decided
  5. spring — the season
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. degree — from a university
  14. craft — a skill
  15. spring — a coil
  16. press — a publisher
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. press — newspapers
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. firm — a company
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spring — of water
  23. craft — boats
  24. degree — temperature

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