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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wound — an injury
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. press — to push
  6. swing — music
  7. track — a song
  8. drill — army training
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. clip — a video
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — for paper
  14. swing — in golf
  15. track — to keep track
  16. drill — the tool
  17. track — a path
  18. press — newspapers
  19. clip — to cut
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wound — an injury
  24. drill — a practice

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