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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. capital — money
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. press — newspapers
  15. fall — to drop
  16. press — to push
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fall — the season
  19. pound — a weight
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. capital — a city
  24. fall — to drop

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