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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: spring · press · cell · mark · band · mine · fork · chip

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spring — of water
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mark — a trace
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. band — a music group
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. spring — the season
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. press — newspapers

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