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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. current — electric
  4. bound — certain
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. swing — music
  7. press — to push
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. press — a publisher
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bound — obliged
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — rain
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bound — tied together
  23. press — newspapers
  24. shower — to wash

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