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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. craft — a skill
  5. season — of the year
  6. press — newspapers
  7. tear — from crying
  8. track — a path
  9. wind — moving air
  10. craft — boats
  11. press — a publisher
  12. mine — for digging
  13. season — in sport
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. wind — moving air
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. track — to keep track
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. track — a song

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