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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — to push
  4. tube — the underground
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. roll — a list
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tear — from crying
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. cold — not warm
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. press — a publisher
  16. roll — a cake
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. bank — of a river
  19. tear — to rip
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. bank — for money
  22. tube — a container
  23. bank — for money
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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