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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: pound · date · press · vault · row · mine · cue · wind

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mine — for digging
  3. row — to paddle
  4. press — a publisher
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cue — a signal
  7. press — to push
  8. pound — a weight
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cue — a hint
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pound — to hit hard

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