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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: patient · trunk · roll · kick · spring · press · staff · shower

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — of water
  3. kick — in football
  4. roll — a list
  5. shower — rain
  6. roll — a cake
  7. press — a publisher
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. shower — to wash
  10. press — to push
  11. spring — a coil
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spring — the season
  14. staff — a stick
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. staff — employees
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. press — newspapers
  24. roll — on a roll

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