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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · march · cue · press · fan · wave · bat · swing

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. swing — to play on
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. march — music
  9. cue — a signal
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cue — for pool
  12. press — to push
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cue — a hint
  20. march — the month
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. march — the month

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