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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · press · wake · bowl · club · saw

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. press — to push
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. saw — the tool
  9. press — a publisher
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wake — a trail
  15. club — a group
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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