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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. press — a publisher
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. press — to push
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. swing — music
  9. band — a music group
  10. swing — to play on
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. snap — to click
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. court — of a king
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. press — newspapers
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. swing — in golf
  20. season — in sport
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. court — of law
  24. band — a ring

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