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

Word bank: cell · land · wind · press · calf · object

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. object — a thing
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — ground
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. object — an aim
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. object — to protest
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — to push
  18. cell — in biology

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