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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 · ground · cap · scale · press · fan · club · dip

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cap — a hat
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. dip — to sink
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. press — a publisher
  11. ground — the earth
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. press — to push
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chest — a box
  16. club — for golf
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cap — a lid
  19. press — newspapers
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. chest — of your body
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — a group

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