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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 116 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: straw · rest · press · content · spring · pitcher · bulb · file

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. press — a publisher
  3. file — a tool
  4. press — to push
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. press — newspapers
  7. file — a line of people
  8. content — the amount
  9. rest — a break
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. spring — the season
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bulb — for light
  15. content — happy
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — a coil
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a document
  21. spring — of water
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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