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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.

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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: press · fall · stock · ball · spring · mate · capital · tube

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. ball — a dance
  3. press — a publisher
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. press — to push
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. spring — the season
  15. stock — shares
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. stock — goods
  18. mate — to breed
  19. capital — a city
  20. tube — a container
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. press — newspapers
  23. tube — the underground
  24. capital — money

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