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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. last — to go on
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — to push
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitch — completely
  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