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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. spring — a coil
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. snap — to click
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. chest — of your body
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. vault — a safe
  12. press — newspapers
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. deal — to handle
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. chest — a box
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. branch — a division
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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