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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. race — a contest
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. season — of the year
  6. spell — magic
  7. swing — in golf
  8. press — a publisher
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. season — in sport
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bore — to tire
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. swing — music
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bore — to drill
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spell — letters

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