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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. saw — the tool
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. object — a thing
  5. face — to point toward
  6. press — to push
  7. object — an aim
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. snap — to click
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — to wash
  12. object — to protest
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. face — to confront
  16. shower — rain
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wind — moving air
  19. press — newspapers
  20. saw — the tool
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. scale — in music
  23. face — part of the head
  24. scale — size or range

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