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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. dip — to sink
  3. march — the month
  4. present — the time now
  5. march — music
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. present — a gift
  9. press — to push
  10. foot — a measure
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fork — in a road
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. tear — from crying
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. tear — to rip
  21. present — there
  22. tear — from crying
  23. press — newspapers
  24. march — the month

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