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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. press — a publisher
  8. tear — from crying
  9. can — a tin
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. can — to be able to
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. press — newspapers
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tear — from crying
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. press — to push
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — to rip
  24. coach — a trainer

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