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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: ball · press · content · spring · chip · staff · pitcher · wound

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spring — the season
  3. chip — for betting
  4. content — the amount
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ball — a dance
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chip — to eat
  9. staff — a stick
  10. content — happy
  11. press — to push
  12. spring — of water
  13. staff — employees
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ball — a great time
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. staff — employees
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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