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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 120 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lean — thin
  4. hand — help
  5. press — to push
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. pass — a permit
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. lean — to bend
  21. band — a ring
  22. press — a publisher
  23. hand — in cards
  24. press — newspapers

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