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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — to go on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. snap — to click
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. track — a song
  8. press — to push
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. last — finally
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. mark — a grade
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — final
  22. tear — to rip
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mark — a trace

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