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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cap — of ice
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rock — music
  5. rash — a series
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. press — a publisher
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cap — a lid
  20. press — to push
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — not warm

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