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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. craft — boats
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — in biology
  12. file — a tool
  13. snap — to click
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cell — a phone

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