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

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bear — the animal
  4. press — to push
  5. current — happening now
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bear — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. current — electric
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. press — newspapers
  23. current — of water
  24. rush — to hurry

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