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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — happening now
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. press — to push
  8. clip — a video
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — for paper
  11. can — to be able to
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. can — a tin
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. press — a publisher
  18. shower — rain
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. clip — to cut
  22. can — a tin
  23. tear — to rip
  24. press — newspapers

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