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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. tear — to rip
  3. press — to push
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mine — for digging
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. club — a group
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pass — a permit
  13. press — newspapers
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. club — for golf
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. roll — a list
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. roll — a cake
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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