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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. net — for catching
  3. press — to push
  4. lean — to bend
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. net — after costs
  9. wound — an injury
  10. saw — the tool
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. lean — thin
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. press — a publisher
  21. ground — the earth
  22. saw — the tool
  23. net — in sport
  24. tear — from crying

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