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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: cold · press · wind · swing · date · mark · bass · last

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wind — moving air
  3. swing — music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. press — to push
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. mark — a grade
  16. last — finally
  17. date — the fruit
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. mark — a trace
  21. bass — low music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. date — on the calendar

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