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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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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: season · nail · track · chest · spring · tube · wound · press

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. track — a path
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spring — the season
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. press — newspapers
  10. season — of the year
  11. press — to push
  12. chest — of your body
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. tube — the underground
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wound — an injury
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wound — an injury
  19. season — in sport
  20. track — a song
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. chest — of your body
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chest — a box

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