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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cap · perch · band · press · mug · wind · file

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mug — to rob
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a tool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. press — newspapers
  8. mug — a cup
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cap — a lid
  13. file — a line of people
  14. band — a music group
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cap — of ice
  17. press — a publisher
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. file — a document
  21. band — a ring
  22. rush — hurry
  23. mug — a face
  24. press — to push

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