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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — the time now
  5. hand — help
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. root — of a word
  9. present — there
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. stock — goods
  13. press — to push
  14. cue — a signal
  15. stock — shares
  16. root — the cause
  17. field — for sport
  18. root — of a plant
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cue — a hint
  21. present — a gift
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wind — moving air

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