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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: wind · bark · spring · mine · race · press · land · sharp

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. race — the arms race
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wind — moving air
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. race — a contest
  7. press — newspapers
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. land — a country
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. race — humankind
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. land — to come down
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. press — a publisher
  20. spring — the season
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. land — ground
  24. press — to push

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