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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: bay · press · land · racket · wound · spring · toast · present

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. spring — of water
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. land — a country
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. present — the time now
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. press — a publisher
  10. toast — bread
  11. press — to push
  12. land — to come down
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. spring — the season
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. land — ground
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. press — newspapers

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