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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 120 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. pound — a weight
  15. press — newspapers
  16. prune — to trim
  17. press — to push
  18. capital — money
  19. press — a publisher
  20. capital — a city
  21. vault — a safe
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hand — in cards

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