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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 116 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spring — of water
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spring — a coil
  6. content — the amount
  7. press — to push
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — moving air
  11. row — to paddle
  12. content — happy
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. spring — the season
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. perch — the fish
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. row — a line
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wind — to turn a key

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