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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · cold · press · spring · craft · foot · mate · pitcher

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — to push
  3. foot — a measure
  4. present — the time now
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. press — a publisher
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. present — a gift
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mate — a friend
  12. press — newspapers
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — of water
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. craft — boats
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. present — there

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