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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
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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 · press · bark · mug · cold · court · cell · bulb

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spring — the season
  3. mug — a cup
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. court — of a king
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. court — for sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bulb — for light
  11. press — to push
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — not warm
  15. spring — of water
  16. mug — to rob
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — of law
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mug — a face
  24. bark — to shout

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