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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tear — to rip
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. press — to push
  11. vault — a safe
  12. drill — army training
  13. tear — from crying
  14. file — a tool
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. file — a document
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. spring — a coil
  19. file — a line of people
  20. kick — in football
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. mine — for digging

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