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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 116 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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. tear — to rip
  3. row — to paddle
  4. press — a publisher
  5. race — the arms race
  6. staff — employees
  7. row — a line
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. face — to point toward
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — for sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — a contest
  16. press — to push
  17. staff — a stick
  18. field — a subject
  19. face — to confront
  20. race — humankind
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. field — farmland
  23. sharp — clever
  24. face — part of the head

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