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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: wind · rash · court · last · fan · swing · press · wave

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wind — moving air
  6. press — newspapers
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. last — finally
  11. court — of a king
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. rash — a series
  15. last — final
  16. press — to push
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. swing — to play on
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. court — of law
  22. last — to go on
  23. press — a publisher
  24. fan — to cool the air

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