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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. march — music
  6. field — farmland
  7. can — a tin
  8. drill — a practice
  9. press — newspapers
  10. march — the month
  11. field — for sport
  12. can — a tin
  13. press — a publisher
  14. field — a subject
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. drill — army training
  18. rule — a law
  19. tear — from crying
  20. can — to be able to
  21. press — to push
  22. march — the month
  23. rule — government
  24. drill — the tool

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