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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: cue · spring · last · tube · press · branch · scale · kick

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. last — final
  3. press — to push
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. scale — in music
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. spring — a coil
  9. press — a publisher
  10. spring — the season
  11. tube — the underground
  12. press — newspapers
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spring — of water
  16. branch — a division
  17. last — to go on
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. last — finally
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. tube — a container
  24. scale — size or range

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