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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: content · press · spring · cue · chair · cabinet · cold · deal

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cue — for pool
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — a signal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. spring — of water
  9. press — to push
  10. content — happy
  11. press — a publisher
  12. content — the amount
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — an illness
  18. deal — to handle
  19. spring — the season
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cabinet — ministers

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