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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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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. press — to push
  3. band — a ring
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. band — a music group
  8. pit — a hole
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. press — newspapers
  14. last — finally
  15. craft — boats
  16. last — to go on
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pit — in a race
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — an illness
  22. last — final
  23. craft — a skill
  24. rush — 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