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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chair · press · can · spring · pit · wave · kick · cold

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. spring — a coil
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. press — to push
  8. spring — of water
  9. pit — in a race
  10. spring — the season
  11. pit — a hole
  12. can — a tin
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. kick — in football
  20. can — to be able to
  21. press — a publisher
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cold — not warm
  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