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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 120 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: press · pop · staff · snap · prune · mine · rush · wind

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. press — to push
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pop — soda
  18. prune — to trim
  19. staff — a stick
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. snap — to click

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