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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. saw — the tool
  3. press — a publisher
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. lean — to bend
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — all right
  9. game — wild animals
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. game — a match
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rush — hurry
  15. lean — thin
  16. current — of water
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fine — high quality
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. press — newspapers
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. fine — a penalty

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