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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 116 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 · spring · chip · lash · mine · wind · chair · pop

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pop — to visit
  4. press — a publisher
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — the season
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. press — newspapers
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. press — to push
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chip — to eat

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