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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: field · wound · plane · fall · cue · press · chair · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — for sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. press — a publisher
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cue — a hint
  12. press — newspapers
  13. fall — to drop
  14. press — to push
  15. cue — a signal
  16. field — a subject
  17. cue — for pool
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — moving air

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