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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. present — the time now
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. fall — to drop
  6. club — a group
  7. press — to push
  8. tear — from crying
  9. club — for golf
  10. fall — the season
  11. club — for dancing
  12. present — a gift
  13. fall — to drop
  14. present — there
  15. cap — of ice
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tear — to rip

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