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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 · march · press · cold · root · wake · scale · foot

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — newspapers
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. press — to push
  5. root — the cause
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. march — the month
  11. root — of a plant
  12. march — music
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. scale — size or range
  17. march — the month
  18. root — of a word
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. scale — in music
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cold — an illness

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