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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. spring — of water
  5. fine — high quality
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mark — a grade
  8. press — to push
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. field — farmland
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. spring — the season
  17. fine — all right
  18. mine — for digging
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. tear — to rip
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. mine — an explosive

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