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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.

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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: stock · press · snap · hand · mine · court · spring · mate

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — to push
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mate — a partner
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. hand — in cards
  14. spring — the season
  15. snap — to click
  16. stock — shares
  17. court — of law
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. hand — help
  21. court — for sport
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. press — a publisher

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