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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. snap — to click
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a signal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. press — newspapers
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. press — to push
  20. tear — to rip
  21. press — a publisher
  22. bear — the animal
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. leaves — to go away

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