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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · cell · fine · tear · spring · net

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fine — all right
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. net — in sport
  8. fine — high quality
  9. net — after costs
  10. press — to push
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. tear — from crying
  14. press — a publisher
  15. spring — of water
  16. cell — a phone
  17. press — newspapers
  18. net — for catching

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