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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. current — happening now
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. club — for golf
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wind — moving air
  8. press — newspapers
  9. current — of water
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — for paper
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. press — a publisher
  17. club — a group
  18. face — to confront
  19. current — electric
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pitch — completely
  22. press — to push
  23. wind — moving air
  24. clip — a video

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