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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. spring — the season
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. press — newspapers
  6. spring — of water
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spring — a coil
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — the underground
  18. shower — rain
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. shower — to wash
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. press — to push
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. press — a publisher

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