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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. press — newspapers
  7. wound — an injury
  8. press — a publisher
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bark — to shout
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. hand — help
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. press — to push
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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