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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. cap — a hat
  5. net — for catching
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. net — in sport
  9. club — for dancing
  10. spring — a coil
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pop — soda
  13. root — of a plant
  14. cap — of ice
  15. root — the cause
  16. pop — to visit
  17. swing — music
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pop — music
  20. net — after costs
  21. club — for golf
  22. press — a publisher
  23. club — a group
  24. root — of a word

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