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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.

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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 · press · plane · current · fine · cold · bay · wound

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. current — of water
  9. plane — a tool
  10. current — happening now
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. current — electric
  14. fine — all right
  15. press — to push
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. press — newspapers
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. rush — a thrill

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