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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 116 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: rash · spring · chair · stand · pitch · rest · swing · press

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. spring — the season
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. spring — a coil
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. press — to push
  8. chair — a leader
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spring — of water
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stand — to bear
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rash — a series

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