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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. content — happy
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. face — to confront
  5. swing — in golf
  6. tear — to rip
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chair — a leader
  9. press — to push
  10. rock — a stone
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. face — to point toward
  15. content — the amount
  16. rock — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. face — part of the head
  23. swing — music
  24. prune — to trim

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