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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: calf · press · degree · can · cell · mine · spring · wave

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. can — to be able to
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. can — a tin
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. press — to push
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. spring — of water
  14. cell — a phone
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. cell — in biology
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. can — a tin
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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