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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. band — a ring
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. rock — music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. band — a music group
  14. land — a country
  15. press — a publisher
  16. land — to come down
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. press — newspapers
  21. land — ground
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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