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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: field · press · shower · saw · net · tube · spring · ruler

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tube — a container
  5. net — after costs
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. field — farmland
  10. net — in sport
  11. saw — the tool
  12. shower — rain
  13. field — a subject
  14. press — a publisher
  15. spring — of water
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. spring — the season
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. press — to push
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. net — for catching
  23. press — newspapers
  24. field — for sport

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