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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. rash — a series
  3. mine — for digging
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. plane — a tool
  9. roll — a cake
  10. rash — hasty
  11. face — part of the head
  12. roll — a list
  13. face — to confront
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. press — newspapers
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. craft — boats
  19. press — to push
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. wind — moving air
  24. face — to point toward

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