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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: dip · spring · hide · trunk · chest · press · game · staff

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — of your body
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. game — a match
  10. dip — to sink
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. spring — a coil
  17. press — to push
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — a stick

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