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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mate — to breed
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. club — for golf
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. press — a publisher
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. mate — a partner
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rush — hurry
  19. club — a group
  20. season — in sport
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. season — of the year

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