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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. band — a ring
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitch — completely
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. squash — to crush
  19. band — a music group
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. deal — to handle
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. press — newspapers

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