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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. stand — to bear
  3. last — to go on
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — of law
  6. scale — size or range
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. last — final
  9. can — a tin
  10. press — a publisher
  11. can — a tin
  12. wake — a trail
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — finally
  16. court — of a king
  17. press — newspapers
  18. tear — from crying
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. can — to be able to
  24. court — for sport

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