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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. deal — to handle
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. press — a publisher
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — to push
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bat — the animal
  19. capital — money
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stand — for spectators

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