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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. press — a publisher
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. current — electric
  4. net — after costs
  5. wind — moving air
  6. press — to push
  7. snap — to click
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ground — crushed
  10. fine — all right
  11. current — happening now
  12. ground — a position
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. key — in music
  15. net — in sport
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — the most important part
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fine — high quality
  21. current — of water
  22. net — for catching
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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