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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. swing — to play on
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. swing — music
  5. last — final
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. roll — a cake
  10. rush — hurry
  11. last — finally
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. swing — in golf
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — to go on
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. press — newspapers
  21. roll — a list
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. press — a publisher
  24. nail — for a hammer

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