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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 · kid · date · craft · degree · wake · press · saw

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. press — newspapers
  3. wake — a trail
  4. kid — to tease
  5. saw — the tool
  6. press — a publisher
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. degree — from a university
  13. craft — a skill
  14. degree — temperature
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. craft — boats
  17. wind — moving air
  18. press — to push
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. degree — an amount
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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