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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: lie · wake · bat · spring · tube · press · rest · tear

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. spring — of water
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wake — a trail
  11. press — to push
  12. tube — the underground
  13. rest — a break
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rest — what's left
  16. lie — to recline
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. rest — what's left

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