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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. shower — to wash
  5. net — for catching
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. key — for a lock
  9. shower — rain
  10. spring — of water
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. press — newspapers
  13. net — in sport
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. key — in music
  16. mine — for digging
  17. net — after costs
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. key — the most important part
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. press — to push

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