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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 116 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. press — a publisher
  3. tear — to rip
  4. clip — a video
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — ground
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — to cut
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. clip — for paper
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. land — to come down
  18. last — final
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lie — to recline
  21. press — newspapers
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. press — to push
  24. land — a country

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