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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cold — not warm
  3. swing — music
  4. press — newspapers
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. swing — to play on
  7. firm — decided
  8. press — to push
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cold — an illness
  11. firm — steady
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. capital — money
  15. press — a publisher
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. row — a line
  18. cap — a hat
  19. capital — a city
  20. cap — a lid
  21. swing — in golf
  22. firm — a company
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cap — of ice

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