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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 · cue · chest · fan · press · stick · club · dip

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. dip — to sink
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. club — for dancing
  8. spring — of water
  9. chest — a box
  10. cue — a signal
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — a publisher
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. club — a group
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cue — for pool
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. spring — the season
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. club — for golf

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