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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. press — to push
  3. can — a tin
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. spring — a coil
  12. field — farmland
  13. chest — a box
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. content — the amount
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. can — a tin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. content — happy
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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