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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 124 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: spell · pound · wind · fork · bat · press

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pound — a weight
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — letters
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fork — in a road
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spell — a short time

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