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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · lie · press · rush · cell · spring · root · saw

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. spring — the season
  5. rush — hurry
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. spring — of water
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. press — newspapers
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. press — a publisher
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bat — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spring — a coil
  22. lie — to recline
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cell — in biology

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