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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. key — the most important part
  6. content — the amount
  7. mate — to breed
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. key — for a lock
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wind — moving air
  14. key — in music
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — the animal
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. content — happy
  24. bat — in an idiom

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