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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 · field · charge · wound · press · season · content · wake

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. charge — in control
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. press — newspapers
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. press — to push
  13. charge — a price
  14. wake — a trail
  15. press — a publisher
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rush — hurry
  19. content — the amount
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. charge — electricity

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