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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — an amount
  3. track — a song
  4. spring — the season
  5. rash — a series
  6. track — a path
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. file — a tool
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. press — to push
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rash — hasty
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. press — a publisher
  17. file — a line of people
  18. press — newspapers
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. degree — temperature
  22. track — to keep track
  23. file — a document
  24. cabinet — ministers

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