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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: trunk · press · wind · cold · squash · pound · current · fan

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. squash — to crush
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — electric
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. pound — a weight
  8. press — to push
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cold — not warm
  14. current — of water
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wind — moving air
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pound — for dogs

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