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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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468
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: perch · swing · cue · ground · season · cold · press · band

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. swing — to play on
  4. ground — a position
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. season — of the year
  7. cold — not warm
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cue — a hint
  10. band — a music group
  11. perch — the fish
  12. press — a publisher
  13. swing — in golf
  14. press — to push
  15. ground — crushed
  16. swing — music
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a ring
  21. cue — a signal
  22. season — in sport
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ground — the earth

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