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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.

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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: craft · pound · wound · bat · press · pop · spring · tube

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. press — to push
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tube — a container
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. press — newspapers
  14. craft — boats
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pop — soda
  20. spring — of water
  21. pop — music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. spring — the season
  24. pop — to visit

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