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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: press · ground · spring · racket · saw · roll · jam · last

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. last — final
  6. press — a publisher
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. saw — the tool
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. press — newspapers
  11. roll — a cake
  12. last — to go on
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spring — of water
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. ground — a position
  18. last — finally
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. press — to push
  22. roll — a list
  23. ground — the earth
  24. racket — a loud noise

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