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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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Word bank
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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mate — a partner
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wound — an injury
  14. press — newspapers
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — to push
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rest — a break

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