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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 · spring · bear · rule · wake · coach · mine · game

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — of water
  4. press — to push
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. press — newspapers
  8. spring — the season
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bear — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. game — a match
  23. rule — a law
  24. wake — a trail

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