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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
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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: root · mouse · bound · press · mine · field · wind · pop

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — for sport
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pop — music
  6. root — of a plant
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. field — farmland
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. field — a subject
  12. pop — soda
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. press — to push
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bound — certain
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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