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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rest — what's left
  8. sharp — clever
  9. game — a match
  10. press — to push
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. capital — a city
  14. rest — a break
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. press — newspapers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. game — wild animals

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