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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. snap — to click
  6. bound — certain
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wind — moving air
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bound — tied together
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bound — obliged
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. coach — a trainer

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