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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — to tease
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. march — music
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. ball — a dance
  9. press — newspapers
  10. spring — the season
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. present — the time now
  14. ball — a great time
  15. march — the month
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. press — a publisher
  18. present — there
  19. stem — to come from
  20. press — to push
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kid — child
  23. present — a gift
  24. nail — for a hammer

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