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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: wind · mark · pass · chest · mine · snap · pop · press

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mark — a trace
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. press — newspapers
  6. snap — to click
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chest — a box
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pass — a permit
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pop — music
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mark — a grade
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. press — to push
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — moving air
  23. press — a publisher
  24. pass — to spend time

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