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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — clever
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. saw — the tool
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. scale — size or range
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. scale — in music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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