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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. band — a ring
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bark — to shout
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wind — moving air
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pound — a weight
  19. band — a music group
  20. press — a publisher
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. degree — temperature
  24. press — to push

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