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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fine — high quality
  3. can — a tin
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. present — the time now
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fine — all right
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ground — crushed
  10. tear — from crying
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. ground — the earth
  15. present — there
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lean — thin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ground — a position
  20. press — a publisher
  21. prune — to trim
  22. press — newspapers
  23. present — a gift
  24. press — to push

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