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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: spell · pound · wind · fork · bat · press · deal · date

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wind — moving air
  4. deal — to handle
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. press — to push
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. press — a publisher
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pound — a weight
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. press — newspapers
  24. spell — a short 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