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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chip — for betting
  7. present — there
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. spell — magic
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. present — the time now
  15. tear — from crying
  16. present — a gift
  17. spell — letters
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. spell — a short time
  20. press — newspapers
  21. chip — to eat
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. pound — a weight

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