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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bank — for money
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — to tease
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kid — child
  9. shower — rain
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. press — a publisher
  12. club — for dancing
  13. press — to push
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. club — a group
  16. bank — of a river
  17. cold — not warm
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pound — a weight
  23. club — for golf
  24. wind — to turn a key

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