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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 120 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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — employees
  4. cap — of ice
  5. press — to push
  6. rest — a break
  7. staff — a stick
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cap — a hat
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bark — to shout
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree

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