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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: rush · bowl · bound · cold · press · dip · field · bear

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. field — for sport
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. field — farmland
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bear — the animal
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bound — certain
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. rush — hurry
  22. press — newspapers
  23. field — a subject
  24. bear — to put up with

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