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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. press — a publisher
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fall — the season
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. press — newspapers
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pit — a hole
  13. press — to push
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. lie — to recline
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. deal — to handle
  22. tear — to rip
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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