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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: bore · prune · wave · can · spring · press · court · clip

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. spring — the season
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — to cut
  5. court — for sport
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spring — a coil
  8. can — a tin
  9. bore — to tire
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. court — of law
  12. can — a tin
  13. press — a publisher
  14. can — to be able to
  15. clip — a video
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. press — newspapers
  19. clip — for paper
  20. court — of a king
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spring — of water
  24. press — to push

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