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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: wound · press · spring · court · clip · bore · net · dip

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. net — in sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. court — of a king
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. clip — to cut
  9. press — a publisher
  10. court — of law
  11. bore — to drill
  12. net — after costs
  13. bore — to tire
  14. dip — to sink
  15. press — to push
  16. spring — a coil
  17. clip — a video
  18. press — newspapers
  19. clip — for paper
  20. court — for sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — for catching
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. wound — an injury

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