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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. press — a publisher
  5. face — part of the head
  6. club — a group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mate — a partner
  9. face — to point toward
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — a trail
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mate — to breed
  14. face — to confront
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. press — to push
  18. wound — an injury
  19. press — newspapers
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. club — for golf
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wake — before a funeral

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