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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. ball — a dance
  4. pop — music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pop — soda
  8. spring — of water
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to sink
  12. hand — help
  13. press — to push
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pop — to visit
  19. hand — in cards
  20. current — of water
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. press — newspapers
  23. current — electric
  24. spring — the season

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