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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. press — newspapers
  3. capital — money
  4. object — to protest
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wind — moving air
  7. clip — a video
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. object — an aim
  12. craft — a skill
  13. court — of law
  14. object — a thing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. craft — boats
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. court — of a king
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. court — for sport

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