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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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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: wound · safe · cell · spring · press · fall · chest · stick

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chest — of your body
  7. press — a publisher
  8. chest — a box
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wound — an injury
  12. press — to push
  13. chest — of your body
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. press — newspapers
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spring — the season
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. cell — a phone

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