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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. press — to push
  5. fine — high quality
  6. club — for golf
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — all right
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — a subject
  18. cold — not warm

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