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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 120 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 · content · object · swing · dip · kid · press · band

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — to sink
  3. object — a thing
  4. swing — in golf
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chest — of your body
  7. content — happy
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. chest — of your body
  16. band — a ring
  17. chest — a box
  18. object — to protest
  19. kid — child
  20. object — an aim
  21. content — the amount
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. content — videos and posts

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