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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. press — a publisher
  4. land — ground
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. land — to come down
  12. press — to push
  13. land — a country
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — moving air
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. press — newspapers
  24. fan — a supporter

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