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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. press — to push
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rock — a stone
  10. press — a publisher
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. press — newspapers
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. present — a gift
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — there
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. rock — music

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