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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.

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: press · rush · mine · cold · snap · field · mug · mate

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. field — for sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. mate — a friend
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. press — to push
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mate — to breed
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mug — a face
  19. mate — a partner
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. press — a publisher
  23. snap — to click
  24. mug — a cup

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