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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cap — of ice
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cap — a hat
  6. press — newspapers
  7. race — humankind
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cap — a lid
  13. shower — rain
  14. race — a contest
  15. bound — certain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. press — to push
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bark — to shout
  24. tear — from crying

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