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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: press · wound · fine · bulb · stick · shower · straw · spring

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. press — a publisher
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wound — an injury
  7. shower — rain
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. spring — of water
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. press — newspapers
  20. spring — the season
  21. press — to push
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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