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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. tear — to rip
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. press — a publisher
  7. face — to point toward
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. press — newspapers
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. press — to push
  14. deal — to handle
  15. dip — to sink
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. clip — a video
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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