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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 · cue · mine · tube · nail · fan · stock · wind

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stock — shares
  8. press — to push
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cue — for pool
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. stock — goods

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