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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. cue — a hint
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cue — a signal
  6. band — a music group
  7. cue — for pool
  8. press — a publisher
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. press — to push
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — in music
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. tear — to rip
  16. band — a ring
  17. press — newspapers
  18. last — to go on

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