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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a music group
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bulb — for light
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. band — a ring
  21. press — to push
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitch — completely

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