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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. press — to push
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — steady
  9. net — after costs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — to wash
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. shower — rain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers

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