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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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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: ball · press · cabinet · cap · clip · drill · rash · spring

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ball — a great time
  11. press — newspapers
  12. spring — the season
  13. cap — a lid
  14. drill — army training
  15. press — to push
  16. clip — to cut
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. clip — a video
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ball — a dance
  23. press — a publisher
  24. cabinet — ministers

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