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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — a publisher
  5. fall — to drop
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fall — the season
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — to rip
  13. firm — decided
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bore — to drill
  16. scale — in music
  17. firm — a company
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. perch — the fish
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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