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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cell — a phone
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. tear — from crying
  17. press — to push
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. tear — to rip
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bark — to shout

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