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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. file — a tool
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. file — a document
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. tube — the underground
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — hurry
  17. tube — a container
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. press — a publisher
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cold — not warm

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