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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: press · fine · rush · date · mine · cold · content · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fine — all right
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rush — hurry
  6. content — the amount
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fine — high quality
  13. press — a publisher
  14. club — for golf
  15. date — the fruit
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. press — to push
  21. content — happy
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cold — not warm

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