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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. toast — bread
  3. kick — in football
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. degree — from a university
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. press — newspapers
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — final
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fine — all right
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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