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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: wake · leaves · pit · kid · mine · press · scale · wind

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. press — to push
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wake — a trail
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. kid — child
  11. scale — in music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. press — newspapers
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wind — moving air
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. kid — to tease

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