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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. press — a publisher
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. cell — in biology
  21. press — to push
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rock — music
  24. cold — an illness

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