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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: chip · press · wound · mine · pound · wind · stock · drill

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stock — shares
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — a weight
  11. stock — goods
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — to push
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mine — for digging
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chip — to eat
  24. wind — to turn a key

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