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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. tear — from crying
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cold — an illness
  5. press — newspapers
  6. plane — a tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. date — the fruit
  14. charge — electricity
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. tear — to rip
  17. charge — in control
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. press — to push
  22. bear — the animal
  23. press — a publisher
  24. date — on the calendar

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