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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
468
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 · plane · pit · bat · march · present · tear · press

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. tear — from crying
  3. plane — a tool
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spring — of water
  7. present — there
  8. spring — the season
  9. march — music
  10. press — newspapers
  11. present — the time now
  12. pit — a hole
  13. press — a publisher
  14. march — the month
  15. present — a gift
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — to push
  19. pit — in a race
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. plane — an aircraft

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