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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: spring · ball · tube · deal · press · key · squash · shower

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. press — a publisher
  4. ball — a great time
  5. spring — the season
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. key — in music
  8. deal — to handle
  9. spring — of water
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. ball — a dance
  12. press — newspapers
  13. tube — the underground
  14. key — the most important part
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tube — a container
  17. squash — the sport
  18. press — to push
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. spring — a coil
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. squash — to crush
  24. shower — rain

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