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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — to rip
  6. firm — steady
  7. tear — from crying
  8. firm — decided
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rash — hasty
  11. firm — a company
  12. press — to push
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rash — a series
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. chair — to sit on

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