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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. field — a subject
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — rain
  13. wind — moving air
  14. press — a publisher
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. spell — letters
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. press — newspapers
  20. field — for sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. field — farmland
  23. spell — magic
  24. press — to push

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