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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. nail — on a finger
  2. stem — to come from
  3. land — ground
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wind — moving air
  10. press — newspapers
  11. land — to come down
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. press — a publisher
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. press — to push
  17. land — a country
  18. club — a group
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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