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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chip — for betting
  4. pound — a weight
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spell — letters
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wind — moving air
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. capital — a city
  15. saw — the tool
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. capital — money
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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