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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 116 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: bay · scale · rush · cold · season · tube · press · wake

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. scale — in music
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. season — of the year
  11. tube — a container
  12. scale — size or range
  13. tube — the underground
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cold — an illness
  21. season — in sport
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — to push
  24. season — to add flavour

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