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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. press — a publisher
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. firm — decided
  12. chair — a leader
  13. press — to push
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wind — moving air
  16. firm — steady
  17. shower — rain
  18. tear — from crying
  19. firm — a company
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mark — a trace
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mark — to pay attention
  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