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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spring — a coil
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. net — after costs
  8. cap — of ice
  9. spring — the season
  10. press — to push
  11. season — in sport
  12. press — newspapers
  13. net — in sport
  14. kick — in football
  15. season — of the year
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. net — for catching
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spring — of water
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cap — a lid
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. press — a publisher

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