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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: chest · deal · coach · wake · fan · spring · content · press

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. press — newspapers
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. press — to push
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. spring — the season
  12. content — the amount
  13. chest — of your body
  14. content — happy
  15. wake — a trail
  16. press — a publisher
  17. spring — of water
  18. chest — a box
  19. deal — to handle
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wake — before a funeral

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