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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. face — to confront
  3. press — to push
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. face — to point toward
  6. can — a tin
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. dip — to sink
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. can — a tin
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. can — to be able to
  20. kid — child
  21. face — part of the head
  22. press — newspapers
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. press — a publisher

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