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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 · rush · coach · sharp · racket · fork · press · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rush — hurry
  8. last — final
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. fork — in a road
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. last — finally
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. sharp — clever
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. press — to push

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