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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. press — to push
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. tear — to rip
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. degree — temperature
  11. clip — to cut
  12. press — newspapers
  13. track — a path
  14. clip — a video
  15. degree — an amount
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. track — to keep track
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. press — a publisher
  20. track — a song
  21. degree — from a university
  22. clip — for paper
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cap — a lid

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