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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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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: pit · tear · pop · mine · wind · press

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pop — to visit
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pop — soda
  6. press — a publisher
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pop — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pit — in a race
  18. press — to push

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