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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: bowl · coach · ground · press · face · craft · spring · game

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. press — to push
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. spring — the season
  8. face — to confront
  9. ground — crushed
  10. game — wild animals
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. press — newspapers
  14. spring — of water
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ground — a position
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. face — part of the head
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. ground — the earth
  21. game — a match
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — boats
  24. spring — a coil

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