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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. march — music
  5. last — finally
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. press — to push
  9. last — to go on
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — a weight
  18. last — final
  19. march — the month
  20. press — a publisher
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. press — newspapers

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