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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. press — to push
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. tear — from crying
  6. row — a line
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. press — newspapers
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — a publisher

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