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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bore — to tire
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. deal — to handle
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — money
  10. object — to protest
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — newspapers
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. press — to push
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. object — an aim
  20. capital — a city
  21. object — a thing
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — to cut
  24. capital — a big letter

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