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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 · press · wound · bat · land · stem · calf · mouse

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. press — to push
  6. land — a country
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bat — the animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. land — to come down
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. land — ground
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. calf — a young animal

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