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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. staff — employees
  3. root — of a plant
  4. press — to push
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. craft — a skill
  7. wound — an injury
  8. craft — boats
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cap — a hat
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bat — the animal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. press — newspapers
  19. staff — employees
  20. root — of a word
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. cap — of ice
  23. staff — a stick
  24. root — the cause

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