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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: cold · fall · press · stick · plane · safe · spring · hand

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spring — the season
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fall — to drop
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. press — newspapers
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spring — of water
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. hand — help
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. press — to push
  24. fall — the season

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