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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: court · season · cold · sharp · press · content · rush · bear

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. press — to push
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. rush — hurry
  9. season — in sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bear — the animal
  12. press — newspapers
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. content — happy
  19. press — a publisher
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. content — the amount
  24. court — of a king

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