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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.

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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 · row · spring · sharp · plane · stock · face · drill

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. press — to push
  4. sharp — clever
  5. plane — a tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. stock — goods
  8. row — a line
  9. spring — the season
  10. face — part of the head
  11. drill — a practice
  12. press — a publisher
  13. drill — army training
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. face — to point toward
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. spring — a coil
  18. row — to paddle
  19. drill — the tool
  20. face — to confront
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. press — newspapers
  24. stock — shares

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