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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.

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: mouse · safe · cold · racket · spring · capital · face · press

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. press — to push
  4. spring — the season
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cold — not warm
  9. capital — money
  10. spring — of water
  11. capital — a city
  12. spring — a coil
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — a publisher
  21. face — to confront
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. press — newspapers
  24. racket — for tennis

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