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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. mate — a partner
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. spring — a coil
  6. court — for sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. court — of a king
  9. mate — a friend
  10. press — to push
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. press — newspapers
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. court — of law
  21. press — a publisher
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mine — an explosive

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