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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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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. press — to push
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. perch — the fish
  10. track — a path
  11. pop — music
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pop — soda
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mine — for digging
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. track — to keep track
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. track — a song
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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