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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cue — a hint
  3. press — a publisher
  4. drill — army training
  5. press — to push
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — newspapers
  8. dip — to sink
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spring — a coil
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. drill — the tool
  15. content — the amount
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. scale — in music
  23. drill — a practice
  24. content — happy

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