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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. season — of the year
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pitch — completely
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. clip — a video
  13. swing — in golf
  14. season — in sport
  15. roll — a list
  16. capital — money
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. swing — music
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a cake
  23. tear — from crying
  24. press — a publisher

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