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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: spring · trunk · bulb · lie · mouse · capital · bat · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spring — the season
  7. capital — a city
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spring — a coil
  11. capital — money
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. press — newspapers
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spring — of water
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. lie — to recline
  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