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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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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. press — newspapers
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. chest — of your body
  12. track — a song
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chest — a box
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stand — to bear
  18. press — to push

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