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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: foot · season · wind · tear · last · scale · cue · press

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cue — for pool
  5. last — finally
  6. season — in sport
  7. foot — a measure
  8. press — to push
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. last — to go on
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. scale — in music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — final
  19. press — a publisher
  20. season — of the year
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — a signal
  24. press — newspapers

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