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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spring — the season
  5. rule — a law
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. press — to push
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chip — to eat
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rule — government
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. spring — a coil
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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