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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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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: bat · spell · pound · press · spring · file

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. file — a document
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pound — a weight
  6. press — newspapers
  7. spring — a coil
  8. file — a tool
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spring — the season
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. spell — magic
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. press — to push

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