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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. rule — government
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. spring — of water
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pass — a permit
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rule — a law
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. press — to push
  19. tear — from crying
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. branch — a division
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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