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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. tear — to rip
  5. press — to push
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. saw — the tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — a coil
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bass — low music
  19. spring — the season
  20. face — to confront
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. press — a publisher
  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