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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. current — electric
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chest — of your body
  7. current — of water
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. chest — a box
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. spring — the season
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — happening now
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. mouse — the animal

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