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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: swing · hand · fan · jam · field · wake · press · rash

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — a subject
  4. swing — music
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. press — newspapers
  7. hand — in cards
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wake — a trail
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — help
  12. rash — hasty
  13. swing — in golf
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. swing — to play on
  21. rash — a series
  22. press — to push
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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