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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. game — wild animals
  3. tube — the underground
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bark — to shout
  7. press — to push
  8. game — a match
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. kick — in football
  14. tear — from crying
  15. press — newspapers
  16. tube — a container
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. tear — to rip
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fall — the season
  24. game — a kind of play

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