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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. press — a publisher
  3. squash — the sport
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. current — electric
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. current — of water
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — goods
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. press — newspapers
  15. land — a country
  16. press — to push
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. squash — to crush
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. current — happening now
  22. land — to come down
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. stock — shares

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