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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 116 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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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: scale · nail · spring · file · sharp · press · bowl · prune

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. spring — the season
  3. sharp — clever
  4. prune — to trim
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. press — newspapers
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. file — a document
  13. scale — size or range
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spring — of water
  22. scale — in music
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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