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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.

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: pound · wind · clip · press · tube · mate · rush · spell

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tube — a container
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. mate — a partner
  10. press — a publisher
  11. mate — a friend
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. clip — a video
  15. rush — hurry
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spell — letters
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pound — a weight
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. press — newspapers

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