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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. press — to push
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. row — to paddle
  7. press — newspapers
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bass — low music
  11. row — a line
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pop — soda
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bark — to shout
  20. press — a publisher
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. straw — dry grass

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