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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 124 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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 — not warm
  2. season — of the year
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bank — for money
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bank — of a river
  10. season — in sport
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bank — for money
  14. pop — soda
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pop — music
  20. press — newspapers
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. press — to push
  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