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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: row · pit · swing · press · rush · band · spring · bat

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. band — a music group
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pit — a hole
  6. band — a ring
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. row — to paddle
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bat — the animal
  12. press — to push
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. press — a publisher
  17. row — a line
  18. spring — of water
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rush — hurry
  24. row — a quarrel

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