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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: press · hand · pop · object · lean · club · spring · arm

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. object — to protest
  3. club — for golf
  4. spring — a coil
  5. lean — thin
  6. object — a thing
  7. lean — to bend
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pop — to visit
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. object — an aim
  13. press — newspapers
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. press — a publisher
  20. pop — music
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pop — soda
  23. club — a group
  24. hand — help

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