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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: wave · cell · press · swing · dip · bass · rush · cold

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cold — not warm
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cell — a phone
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. press — newspapers
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. press — to push
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. swing — music
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. dip — to sink

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