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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — a phone
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cell — in biology
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. press — to push
  12. court — of law
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. tear — to rip
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — a company
  19. court — of a king
  20. press — newspapers
  21. net — in sport
  22. firm — steady
  23. spring — a coil
  24. court — for sport

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