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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. press — to push
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. land — ground
  5. mate — a partner
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — a publisher
  10. file — a line of people
  11. land — to come down
  12. file — a document
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — a country
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. wind — moving air

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