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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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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: ruler · track · kid · wake · bat · press · deal · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kid — to tease
  5. press — to push
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. kid — child
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. track — a song
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. track — to keep track
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. press — a publisher
  23. track — a path
  24. deal — an agreement

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