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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. press — to push
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rush — hurry
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rest — a break
  12. object — to protest
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. content — the amount
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — a thing

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