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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · press · bat · march · pitcher · drill · wind · current

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. current — of water
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. drill — army training
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. drill — a practice
  10. current — electric
  11. march — music
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — the tool
  16. current — happening now
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — for digging
  20. press — to push
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. press — newspapers
  23. march — the month
  24. press — a publisher

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