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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. press — to push
  4. press — newspapers
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spell — a short time
  8. press — a publisher
  9. spell — magic
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — letters
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. tear — from crying
  21. object — a thing
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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